I recently watched the film Deliver Me from Nowhere, which chronicled a specific period in Bruce Springsteen’s life. He was on the cusp of super stardom. He had his first “hit” and was coming off a successful tour. While his music label was anxious to capitalize and pushed Springsteen to make something commercial, he instead retreated into a small rental home in Jersey, close to where he grew up. He was struggling. Trying to reconcile his pending success and the pain he saw all around him and within his own family. A struggle I can relate to.
The result of his intense focus was the stripped down masterpiece Nebraska and the recognition that he needed help from a mental health professional, which he began getting shortly after the album’s release.
The same focus Springsteen put into making Nebraska he expected from its listeners. He instructed his label to release the album without fanfare or press. No singles would be released. There would be no tour supporting the album. Presumably, he wanted people to experience this music similar to how he created it. Alone in a room taking it in from start to finish. If you haven’t had this experience, I encourage you to find an hour, grab some headphones and do so.
Later that week, I read about this challenge, asking people each week to spend ten uninterrupted minutes looking at a single piece of art – which they provide an image for. This is in stark contrast to what we often see in museums where people saunter by to take a quick selfie with Van Gogh’s Starry Night..
Research shows that when we exercise our ability to focus on one thing, it impacts how we see the world. We become more attuned in general.
I wonder if that’s why I ended up noticing this podcast episode, The Lost Art of Long Thinking. This described a different time of focus. One that is sustained over a long period of time. Coming back time and time again to grapple with a problem or idea that is vexing us.
If you have teenagers, you probably have heard them express the idea of focus with the term “Lock-in” The term itself has been around for a very long time. Being used in the context of everything from the military and photography (locking in your shot) to sports and even pubs (back in the 1890’s pub owners would allow regulars to be “locked-in” after closing time)
The skill of intense focus – regardless of what you want to call it – is increasingly difficult in a world of constant distraction and need for instant gratification. Yet it is the mother of both invention and appreciation.
When we spend part of our life locked in, we tune out the noise. We focus on what is right in front of us. What we deem important or worthwhile. We generate new ideas, solutions and ways of seeing the world. It deepens our appreciation – not just for the foci of our attention but for ourselves, each other and life itself.
Lock-in on something this week.
This Week’s Recommendation: Lest we take our ability to focus and see for granted, I encourage you to grab a loved one and watch the documentary, Blink. It follows a family of six as they travel the world in an attempt to fill the visual memory of their children before a disease takes their vision. It is beautiful in every way you can imagine.
Please consider sharing this with someone who could benefit from a little focus in their lives.