Wichita daily eagle., 1885-09-08
CONCENTRATION.
A RADICAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
TWO CLASSES OF WORKERS
The Power of Putin: AL Thought ene
Attention on One Matter-How II
May BE Cultivated-Edi'
sons Succoss.
fPhfladelphia Ledger.l

lPhHadelphia Ledger.l
Two men, working side by side In the neid
or the factory. may be equally compeIent
as far Us knowledge or physical strength OF
previous training GO, to perform the labor
before them. They begin with equal promise
Of good success, but in q short time, while
one is persistin2. the other Is relaxing IN
effort One pursues his work with unremit-
ting zeal; the other spasmodicaily, WITH IN
tervals OF wandering thoughts and hagging
attention.
It is already an assured fact that the one
who has acquired the habit Of concentrauon
will b. tie successful competitor de VIII
be anxiously sought for and re-en-
caped while the other will soon &c
10 swell the ranks Of the unem'
rloyed /, matters not what Is to
be done: from the simplest mechanical work
to the most abstruss and complex mental
operation. the power Of putting all tne
thought, energy and attention on that and
nothing else for the tirne being. will very
largely determine the quality and amount
Of labor performed
To some extent this Is natural gilt we
see chiIiren a: play WHO, without other
motive than their instructive tenden-
cies, persist continuously in any enors
thew make. or purpose they form,
with perseverance AMI earnestness
which may well shame many OF their
elders, while others will be distracted by
every passing object and forget their de-
examinations as soon Is they are formed.
| Yet here, perhaps more than in most tsnden'
cies, culture and practice come In &c
strengthen what is lacking
Tie discipline Of the schools is most valu-
able in developing the concentrative power
in the province of thought, and 1t would be
blessing t. every child if, in some way, q
like discipline helped him in the work Of his
hands. Like every other faculty, this. too,
is strengthened by exercise. Every time
we recall our scattering energies and wan
dering thoughts, and force them resolutely
in one direction, We increase the power ana
develop the habit, and the exertion, at firs
painful and laborious, becomes in time easy
and agreeable.
Mr. Thomas A Ellison attributes his sue
cess as an inventor largely to this faculty
which hs gained by steadfast exertion, ono
being abs only to think upon given sub
ject for ten minutes before something els
would core into his mind, but gaining bl
long practice the power OF continuous AM
uninterrupted thought for hours on a singh
, topic. At one time be worked with his as
: sistants in trying to connect piece OF car
Ion TO a wire Each time it would break
, and they would spend several hours u
making another, until after working in thi
! way one day and two nights they fna!l
: succeeded.
The habit does not nece essarily mako pei
: son so absorbed in one thing as 70 becom
=. narrow and one-sidei. He may become S
by Welding wholly to native impulse g
dwelling on one thing, but the snmc seif-cot
troll that concentrates his energies at WA
can also divert them at will into anothe
q channel when the proper time arrives
Many things rightly Calm our attention
but none Of them will receive it Alright
= our thoughts aimlessly wanier from one I
another without compass or guide