St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1885-07-25
Concentration.

mind that seem OF themselves to make
life worth living, that of concentration
occupies o prominent place. To be able
to fix the thoughts or the attention. ex-
clusively upon one subject, and to keep
them there without waveHing as long as
| is necessary, is most important ele-
| ment OF success in every occupation. Lt
| ls common mistake to think that al
| though this ability is essential in pro-
fessions, in literary pursuits, in the
management of large enterprises, or In
any position involving the laying of
plans or the carrying out Of systems,
| for the ordinary and commonplace
worker, especially if his work be chiefly
manual, it is of little consequence
This is one of those fallacies which lie
cient, and inferior quality of work
which is offered to the world in auanti-
ties far exceeding the demand. 1t is a
we'll known fact that while hundreds of
unserviceahle men and women stand
idle, waiting for employment which
does not come, every one WLO is able
and ready to do superior work in any
department is eagerly caught up, and
may almost command his own terms.
One of the most radical differences
| between these two classes of workers is
| this very power of concentrating the
energy and strength of both body and
mind upon the work Immediately at
| hand. Two men, working side by side
in the field or the factory, may be
equally competent, as far as knowledge
or physical strength or previous train
| ing go, to perform the labor before
them. They begin with equal promise
of good success, but in a short time,
while one is persisting, the other is re-
laxing in effort. One pursues his work
with unremitting zeal; the other spas
medically, with intervals of wandering
thoughts and tagging attention. 1t is
already an assured fact that the one
who has acquired the habit of cOncen-
tration will be the successful cOmpet-
itor. He will be anxiOusly sought for
and re-engaged, while the other will
soon go to swell the ranks of the un-
employed. 1t matters not what is to be
done; from the simplest mechanical
work to the most abstruse and complex
mental operation, the power of putting
all the thought energy, and attention on
that and nothing else for the time being,
will very largely determine the quality
and amount of labor performed.
To some extent this is natural gift.
We see children at play who, without
other motive than their instructive ten
denotes, persist continuously in any eff
fort they make, or purpose them, with
8 perseverance and earnestness which
may well shame many of their elders,
while others will be distracted by every
passing object, and forget their deter
limitations as soon as they are formed.
Yet here, perhaps more than in most
| tendencies, culture and practice come
in to strengthen what is lacking. The
| discipline of the schools is most valua-
BILE in developing the concentrative
power in the province of thought, and
| it would be blessing to every child if,
in some way, like discipline helped
him in the work of his hands. Like
every other faculty, this, tOO, is
strengthened by exercise. Each time
we recall our scattering energies and
wandering thoughts, and force them
resolutely in one direction, we increase
the power and develop the habit, and
the exertion, at first painful and labo-
rious, becomes in time easy and agree
able.
Mr.. Thomas A. Edison attributes his
success as an inventor largely to this
| faculty, which he gained by steadfast
lexertion, once being able only to think
upon a given subject for ten minutes
I before something else would come into
his mind, but gaining by long practice
the power of continuous and uninter-
rupted thought for hours on a simple
topic. at one time he worked with his
assistants In trying to connect a piece
of carbon to wire. Each time it would
break, and they would spend several
hours in making another, until after
working in this way one day and two
nights they finally succeeded.
This habit does not necessarily make
person so absorbed in one thing as to
become narrow and one sided. He may
become so by yielding wholly to a ma
tive impulse of dwelling on one thing;
but the same self. control that concen-
trates his energies at will can also di-
vert them at will into another channel
when the proper time arrives. Many
things rightly claim our attention, but
our thoughts aimIessly wander from
one to another, without compass or
guide.-Philadelphia Ledger.