Sadhguru’s Take on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Number of children getting affected with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is on the rise. In fact, even adults are getting affected with this condition. The question that pops up in many of our minds is that “Is ADHD really an epidemic?” Let us know what Sadhguru has to say on this topic.

Sadhguru explains how one can get rid of attention deficit. He says that no two human beings can have the same level of capabilities. It is quite possible that what can be done by one human being physically or mentally may not be possible by someone else. For this reason, it is not rational to label a person like ADD or whatever. In fact, it is important to perform the best of what you can.

If you talk about attention deficit, there could be someone else with too much of attentiveness. By citing his own example, he says that as a child if he focused too much on one thing then it was difficult for him to concentrate on something else. He tended to be engrossed in one thing so much that he used to forget other things. People usually even consider this too as a problem.

Sadhguru further adds that he wasn’t that great academically. His father was a strict person, who had scheduled his children’s study time. He recalls that he used to pick up a book and open some random page and looked at some tiny flaw on the paper. It took hold of his attention to the extent that he would sit there looking at the speck for two hours; didn’t read a single word of the textbook but also did not look anywhere else – up or here and there – due to high level of attention.

He says speck is not a small thing. There are people, who have devoted their entire lives studying microscopic particles like atom. A speck is bigger than an atom. People thought he was crazy that he was so attentive. So, you shouldn’t be labeling yourself. Who is the one to decide if you have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder? Is there any set limit or standard for how much attention you must have? Well, there is nothing like this and it’s all in the people’s mind.

Labeling an Individual

Well, the thing is that we get labeled during the childhood and this continues for the rest of our life. Your level of attention may vary with your age. When you are young, you have different levels of attention and as you grow older you find you can concentrate more. We all evolve in this process.

To prove his point, he quotes the example of the very first day of school, when we don’t really understand what’s happening, but later we develop ability to figure out the nuances. Or, it could be even totally opposite! On the first day, you thought that you could understand everything, but by the end of the year you didn’t achieve anything great.

Can we say that people have the same kind of attention or attention span? No! Again, Sadhguru talks about himself and says he was least attentive or interested in class and did not really bother what was going on. But, this does not mean that he did not have the attention for other kinds of things. Would it be called Attention Deficit? It’s just about not being interested in a particular setup but may be being intrigued by certain other things.

If You Are Passionate About Something, You Will Be Attentive

Sadhguru explains that when we were young or at a certain age, if we really liked something or was drawn to something, we did not have to concentrate on them or that specific thing. Surprisingly, we were just naturally attentive about that things and soon we observed that it was all over our mind.

There is a certain chemistry in the body that supports attention. It takes more effort to pay attention to something that you don’t like. If you think something is important, then you must develop passion for it. If you are keenly interested in something, you will be naturally attentive. He suggests to find something that you are passionate about and eventually, you will find attention flowing.

You can change your state of mind. If you are in a certain state, it does not mean that it will be the same for the rest of the time. You can at any given point of time change the framework of your mind. It is in fact a very flexible aspect of your personality. However, the difficult part is to change the framework of your body.

You should expand the scope of your thinking and the mind. It should be kept flexible as you can do more with your mind if it is flexible. Hence, it is really not about what people think of you or label you. It is completely up to you to change the structure and framework of your mind the way you want.