The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1885-08-01
CONCENTRATION.
A RADICAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
TWO CLASSES OF WORKERS
The Power Of Putting All Thought and
Attention ON One Matter-How 1t
May BE Cultivated-Edi-
sons Success.
Philadelphia Ledger. !

Philadelphia Ledger.1
Two men, working side by side in the field
or the factory, may be equally competent,
rs far rs knowledge or physical strength or
previous training go, to perform tho labor
before them. They begin with equal promise
of good success but in short tins, whilo
one is persisting. the other is reinxing in
effort One pursues hts work with uuremit-
ting zsal; the other spasmodicaiiy. w:th iu-
teryals Of wandering thought an digging
attention.
It is already an assuied fact that tho one
who has acquired the habit OF concentration
will be the successful competitor. 10 will
be anxiously sought for AM re-en-
gagged, while the other will som go
to swell the ranks of tho unem-
plOyed. 1t matters not what Is to
BIO 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 a natural gift We
SEQ children at play who, without other
motive than their instructive tenden-
cies, persist continuously in any effort
they make, or purpose they form,
with perseverance AMI earnestness
which may we'll shame many of their
elders, while others will be distracted by
every passing object, and forget their de.
Examinations as soon as they are formed.
Yet here, perhaps more than in most tendsn.
cies, culture and practice come In to
strengthen what is lacking
The discipline Of the schools Is most valu-
eble III developing the Commemorative power
in the province CT thought, and it would be
a blessing to every child if, in some way, a
like discipline helped him in the work Of his
I e.
IS streng thened by exercise. Every time
we recall our scattering energies AMI wan
dering thoughts and force them resolutely
in one direction, we increase the power and
develop the habit, and the exertiOn, at first
painful and laborious, becomes In time easy
and agreeable.
Mr.. Thomas A. Edison attributes his sue
cess as an inventor largely to this faculty,
which he gained by steadfast exertion, once
being able only to think upon a given sub
ject for ten minutes before something else
would come into his mind, but gaining by
long practice the power Of continuous and
uninterrupted thought for hours ON q single
topic. At one time he worked with his as
sistants In trying to connect q piece OF car
bon to a 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.
The habit does not necessarily make per
son SO absorbed in one thing as to become
narrow and one-sided. He may become sc
by yielding wholly to native impulse OF
dwelling on one thing but the same self-con
troll that concentrates his energies at will
can also divert them at will into another
channel when the proper time arrives
Many things rightly Claim our attention.
but mono of them will receive it Alright if
our thoughts aimlessly wander from one to
another, without compass or guide