Attention & Focus · “You Become What You Hold”
'This One Thing I Do'
Concentrate by deepening feeling and interest in the object itself — not by staring at it — so that the full force of the mind gathers on the one thing being done now.
Don’t stare at a spot — that pulls the mind to the surface. Concentrate by going deep: feel your thought into the vital life of the thing. And get interested — actively look for the most interesting point of view, and interest appears. Hold “This one thing I do,” close the other channels, and the full force of the mind gathers with ease. Interest + depth = concentration you can switch on at will.
What it is
Larson’s concentration method, and notable because he explicitly rejects the standard New Thought drill of gazing at an external point. “You cannot develop concentration by fixing thought or attention upon some external object… like a spot on the wall, as has been suggested by some would-be instructors… your thought goes out towards the surface, so that you are actually getting away from the true field of concentration.” For Larson, real concentration is subjective — it acts “through the deeper or interior realms of mind.” Its ruling thought is “This one thing I do.” And it is built from just two factors that he says are always present in natural concentration:
(1) deepen the action of the mind — feel and think into the vital life of the thing; (2) become interested — actively hunt for the most interesting point of view. Combine the two and “you have perfect concentration.”
The Method
- Set the ruling thought. “The ruling thought of concentration is, ‘This one thing I do,’ and… whenever the mind works completely in the attitude of that thought, concentration is perfect.” Close the other channels: “all the power of mind and thought must be concentrated where you are acting at the time.”
- Drop the external-point habit. Don’t try to bore your gaze into a spot; that pulls the mind to the surface. Concentration is inward depth, not visual fixation.
- First factor — deepen. “Whenever you concentrate or turn your attention upon any subject or object, try to feel deeply, try to think deeply… try to feel your thought getting into the vital life of that something… The moment your mental action begins to deepen, you will find your attention directed upon the object… with perfect ease and with full force.”
- Second factor — become interested. “If you are not interested in that subject or object, begin at once to look for the most interesting point of view. You will be surprised to find that no matter how uninteresting a subject may seem, the very moment you begin to look for the most interesting viewpoints… you will almost immediately become interested.”
- Combine them. “Always look for the most interesting points of view, and while you are looking for those viewpoints, deepen the action of your mind by trying to feel the real vital life of those actions.” Interest + subjective depth = “perfect concentration.”
- Apply it to the work in hand. “Whatever you have to do, deepen your thought while giving that work your attention. You will find that you will thereby give all your energy to that work.” With practice “you can concentrate completely at any time and for any length of time, by simply deciding to do so.”
Source & Lineage
Your Forces and How to Use Them (1912), Chapter XI. The “This one thing I do” motif echoes Philippians 3:13; the explicit rejection of spot-gazing sets Larson against the candle/point-fixation school common in his era. Christian D. Larson (1874-1962). → (larson christian d).
Common refinements
Straining at a point. This is exactly what Larson warns produces a surface, superficial attitude. Don’t grip; deepen.
- Waiting to “feel interested.” Interest is generated, not awaited — go hunt the most interesting viewpoint and it appears.
- Forcing through a boring task by willpower alone. Add the interest-search; force without interest fatigues fast.
- Splitting across tasks. “This one thing I do” means the other channels are closed for now.