Focus: The Hidden Driver of ExcellenceBestselling author Daniel Goleman returns with a groundbreaking look at the secret to high performance and fulfillment: attention. 'A highly readable manifesto for turning our smartphones off once in a while' Financial Times For more than two decades, psychologist and journalist Daniel Goleman has been scouting the leading edge of the human sciences for what's new, surprising and important. In Focus, Goleman delves into the science of attention in all its varieties, presenting a long overdue discussion of this little-noticed and underrated mental asset that matters enormously for how we navigate life. Goleman boils down attention research into a three parts: inner, other, and outer focus. Goleman shows why high-achievers need all three kinds of focus, as demonstrated by rich case studies from fields as diverse as competitive sports, education, the arts, and business. Those who excel rely on what Goleman calls 'Smart Practices' such as mindfulness meditation, focused preparation and recovery, positive emotions and connections, and mental 'prosthetics' which help them improve habits, add new skills, and sustain excellence. Combining cutting-edge research with practical findings, Focus reveals what distinguishes experts from amateurs and stars from average performers. |
Contents
The Subtle Faculty | |
Basics | |
Attention Top and Bottom | |
The Value of a Mind Adrift | |
The Inner Rudder | |
A Recipe for SelfControl | |
The Woman Who Knew Too Much | |
Social Sensitivity | |
Distant Threats | |
The Myth of 10000 Hours | |
Brains on Games | |
Breathing Buddies | |
How Leaders Direct Attention | |
The Leaders Triple Focus | |
What Makes a Leader? | |
Leading for the Long Future | |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
ability activity amygdala Anders Ericsson Anthropocene attuning awareness become better boost bottom-up brain calm centers circuitry circuits Clay Shirky coach cognitive control concentration Cookie create creative cues Daniel Goleman Davidson Decety decision distractions Emotional Intelligence empathy experience feelings focus focused global goals handprint Harvard Business human impact impulse inner insula iPhone Jon Kabat-Zinn Journal kids Larry Larry Brilliant Larry David leaders leadership learning lets listening manage math meditation mental mind wandering Moken neural neurons Neuroscience neuroscientists notice online poker operates organization pain patients percent performance person positive prefrontal area prefrontal cortex problem psychologist reading Richard Davidson routine says self-awareness self-control sense signals skills social someone strategy Susan Butcher tells there’s told Tony Hayward top-down tune understanding Unilever video games what’s York