The most important attribute which can take you to great heights and can also pull you back to the opposite direction, at the same time is concentration. Concentration works as a tonic for brain which enhances the strength, limits and capabilities. Good concentration is a result of hard work. You can easily mold your environment and become a master of any circumstance (good or bad). Concentration act as an antidote to distractions which are responsible for deviation from work.

So, what is concentration and why it is such an important tool? “Concentration” is a word derived from two Latin words, i.e., “con,” a prefix meaning “to” and “Centrum” meaning “center” or “fixed central point”. Thus the word “Concentration”, literally means, “the act or state of bringing to a fixed point or focus”. Mind is restless, always tends to perform vehemently and gets tired easily of continued attention thereby darting here and there incessantly. It fancies whatever is new, attractive and different hence focusing on one thing becomes a tricky job. This involuntary concentration leads to distraction from important duties.

Concentration is a power which is locked inside a treasure box in our brain with a lock. The choice of utilizing this power is up to the possessor. The key is for the one who possess the brain. As this power holds immense unsurpassed capabilities, of both, a destroyer and of a creator, the will and the fortitude to find the right key to open the right lock, is the wish of the owner.

Did you know our body has enough energy to power the entire New York city for 7 days? Sounds unbelievable but its true. Even more interesting is a finding by an reputed heart institute that the energy field of the heart is 500 times bigger than the mind. So much power is within us that even if we spend our entire life looking within our inner source will have infinite surprises to give to us.  Focus is the key to using this power for your own good. Just like a magnifying lense when you focus the rays of the sun gather and produce energy to burn the paper at the point of focus.

Here is an excellent exercise on focus. There is lots more on focus on their site.
Concentration is the secret key to a whole world of possibilities, enabling you to keep out distractions and focus on attaining your life goals. In addition it is an absolute prerequisite if you want to learn the art of meditation, as it helps ‘clear the road’ of any mental obstacles. However if anything the average concentration span is decreasing as life gets busier and busier and the world becomes filled with more things to distract and scatter our attention.

Here is one very easy-to-learn concentration excercise which was taught to me by my meditation teacher Sri Chinmoy. It can reap tremendous rewards in terms of clarity, productivity and efficiency in your life, and it can be done with just a few minutes practise every day. People commonly view concentration as purely a mental exercise; but here we are also going use our heart centre, that space in our chest we point to when we say ‘me’ - helping to take some of the burden away from our tension filled minds. Read more here

I also suggest try out a few Mind Concentration Games like this one It won’t just power your gray cells but also energize your power of focus.