Focus - Is it really all or nothing?

In an era awash with information and rife with distractions, achieving focus is not just a formidable challenge but a formidable challenge that becomes an indispensable necessity.

Ancient wisdom from the Mahabharata—an age-old Indian epic—offers insights into mastering this skill.

Dronacharya, the revered teacher, had a singular question to test the focus of his disciples—the Kauravas and Pandavas. He crafted a clay bird, perched it on a tree, and summoned the warriors.

"Your task, your test, is to hit the bird's eye," announced the teacher.

Yudhishthira, the eldest, took aim first. "What do you see?" Dronacharya inquired.

"The tree, the bird," came the reply.

"Lower your bow; return to your place," instructed the teacher, unimpressed.

Duryodhana followed, bow poised. Again, the question: "What do you see?"

"Tree, bird, you, my brothers," he echoed.

"Step back," said the teacher, his expectations still unmet.

One by one, disciple after disciple, the same question was asked, and similar inadequate answers were received. The bird, the tree, the leaves—they saw it all but missed the point.

Finally, Arjuna stepped forth, bow in hand. "What do you see?" asked Dronacharya for the umpteenth time.

"The bird's eye," Arjuna declared, unflinching.

"Are you certain? Look again, tell me, what do you see?" pressed the teacher.

"Teacher, all I can see, all I wish to see, is the bird's eye. Nothing more."

"Shoot," commanded Dronacharya.

And Arjuna did—his arrow flew straight, piercing the bird's eye.

The lesson from Arjuna's focus transcends time, finding relevance, especially in our digitally saturated era.

Photo by Stefan Cosma on Unsplash