Daniel Goleman on Focus: The Secret to High Performance and Fulfilment

Watch Daniel Goleman talk about Emotional Intelligence live on December 17: bit.ly/3mXmhhh

"The ability to manage emotions is linked with the ability to pay attention." I felt that!

"A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention."

My god this was 2013. The phone situation has become even worse

"The exercise is not keeping your mind focused (...) it's: when it wanders, bring it back". The most spot on, clearest, simplest, most brilliant approach to defining meditation I've ever seen. This right here is the moment I've finally got it. Thank you.

I watched this talk seven years after it was posted. Demands for our attention have increased significantly since then and it’s likely to get worse. I deleted all my social media accounts some years ago and have never regretted it

Are you kidding me?!? They put an ad right in the middle of him guiding a mindfulness excercise... 🤦‍♂️

Here I am feeling guilty listening to this brilliant lecture on focus while I’m hard at work.

1. Performance peaks at 110% of attention or mindfulness. 2. Focus can help with mastery. 3. Mind wandering can be good when looking for a creative solutions. 4. Poor attention results in distraction which in turn results in stress. 5. There are three types of Empathy. Empathetic concerns, cognitive and emotional. 6. Paying attention is a rare commodity these days. 7. It can be improved through practice. Its like a muscle. 8. Use breathing buddy for kids to help with mindfulness practice 9. Practicing breathing can help gaining more attention and mindfulness. Focus on breath. 10. Manage emotions – Red, Yellow, Green.

I'm very certain he knows what he is talking about because his Performance as a presenter is very great which means he needs to have good focus. He is very charismatic.

14:00 Neurobiology of frazzle 50% of time the mind wanders. Not engaged? Cortisol levels are too low. 15:20 Mind wandering is anti correlated to flow. Essential for insight. 16:00 make connections to remote values in a new way = creativity 18:46 somatic markers. Language of the body. 19:30 inner ethical awareness 21:50 Three kinds of empathy. Cognitive. Emotional. Empathic concern. 23:40 outer focus. systems view. Understanding what’s going on in the world outside you. 3rd kind of focus. 3 kinds. Inner. Other. Outer. 25:36 increase attention. Sit up and notice your breathe cycles slowly and with full awareness. Lose focus? Gently restart again. The exercise is bringing your attention back after it wanders. This is a rep for growth. Habituation is what the brain does. Orienting is opening up. It excites the brain. See Hit makers for just enough difference to orient at will. 30:00 mindfulness 8 weeks 30 mins a day. 31:00 Childhood has changed. A loss of focus. Constant distraction. 32:25 Brain is part organ to develop. Repeated experience shapes the brain. This is how neuro plasticity in circuitry grows. Are we helping children’s brain grow in the best ways? Breathing buddies. Strengthening the attention muscle. Regulating emotion. 35:13 Social emotional learning. SEL. To handle themselves and their relationships 36:30 Red light. Yellow light. Green light. Can’t control how emotions come but you can lengthen the period between emotion and response. Marshmallow test. If you’re not able to mange your impulse you can’t learn as well. 40:00 SEL + relationships. Put ups is a way to handle put downs. 45:15 Cookie Monster can’t restrain himself. 2-4 y/o learn by modeling. 50:48 emotions are contagious

37:04 One definition of maturity is lengthening the gap between impulse and action.

Lecture notes for those who don't have time Daniel goleman focus lecture 1. full mutual attention-no distractions/focus. emotional or physical distractions 2.nonverbal synchrony-choreograph your body language w/ the other person 3.feel good -focus on the task at hand, not whats upsetting you -dont disengage, always engage -be aware of the bigger picture cognitive empathy i understand how you think of things, necessary if you want to resonate with somebody emotional empathy immediate perception of how the other person is feeling empathetic concern predisposition to help -mindfulness breathing-returning to the breath improves focus and attention -emotions are contagious. your calmness will make others calmer -learn to delay gratification -in a group setting people pay the most attention to what the most powerful person says or does -pessimism can lead to depression -turn pessimistic attitudes like "Im stupid", into something like "the situation was stupid" and keep at it, being vigilant about any negative thoughts that arrive -cultivate the habit of seeing what is right in every situation instead of what is wrong -the more involved and passionate you are about something, and its valued the greater the 'flow' -if your frazzled, meditate/workout before the stressor and everyday

Stop looking at the comments, and focus on the video! It may just change the way you think forever!

I have adhd. I would love for our brains to be studied. Many of us are highly intelligent and have an incredibly fast ability to comprehend and learn because our focus could not be on that object for long. We have no internal motivation or reward system, have a poor executive function system, and yet creatively find ways to make it through life surrounded by neurotypical people. The world isn't built around our brains and it's needs, so our existence alone requires incredible feat and perseverance. You discussed how distracting our world has become, however it's only a fraction of what our world has always been, including when our brains were being developed and habits were being learned, plus we endured huge social stigma by people who don't understand the condition.

The framework of your words are very helpful! It's like hearing an artist paint a masterpiece. Thank you.

"To make connections between remote elements in a new way to have value; that's the definition of a creative act."

Daniel Goleman is brilliant. He is gift to mankind. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, your insights, your passion.

The first guy to ask his question is a big part of the problem. Dude was walking a fine line with his hateful question. I appreciated the presenters response.

Everytime I got distracted, he made me feel guilty enough to zone in again.