In a world with so many constant distractions, it is extremely challenging to fully focus on a single task. In kyudo, the art of traditional Japanese archery, a major goal is achieving such a state of complete focus that it is essentially impossible to miss the target. Lessons from this ancient art form are applicable to everything we do in business.
Connectivity and The Rise of Multi-Tasking
We live in a world with an incredible and rapidly increasing amount of demands on our attention. From morning to night and even while we are sleeping, we are constantly bombarded with requests, e-mails and text messages.
I recently visited a website and as soon as the page loaded it was filled with pop-up videos, blinking advertisements and, if this was not enough information overload already, invitations giving me the opportunity to subscribe for further materials.
Faced with so many requests, many people simply learn various forms of multi-tasking and dramatically decrease the amount of time that they spend on any one activity. We work while on vacation, listen and write text messages at the same time, participate on skype calls while simultaneously drafting documents and occasionally, in a perfect example of the means cancelling out the ends, eat at the same time as exercising.
Given the number of so many simultaneous points of potential ways to be contacted, our attention is spread so thin across the physical and virtual world and we are effectively in so many places at once that at times people are essentially interacting with avatars of us rather than the real thing.
Predictably, even for people who are extremely attentive, trying to do so many things at once sooner or later affects work quality. We listen just to process the gist of what is being said rather than reflect on it deeply, meeting deadlines becomes more important than the substance of the work product delivered and the why becomes lost in the pressure of the how. Of course working in this way not only affects the quality of our work and our work relationships; it directly affects us as well.
Kyudo
Kyudo, the ancient art of Japanese archery which means “the way of the bow”, can trace its roots back as far as the Yayoi period in Japan between 500 BC and 300 AD.
Starting from that period, use of the Japanese bow grew and gained particular prominence with the rise of the samurai class toward the end of the first century AD. It then continued to be used as a weapon in battle until the Portuguese brought firearms to Japan in the middle of the 16th century.
Today the focus of kyudo is not to wage a battle against others but rather to aim at the improvement of oneself.
In competition, archers shoot arrows at either close or far targets. The close target, which measures 36 centimeters in diameter, is 28 meters away; the far target, which measures 1 meter in diameter, is between 60 to 90 meters from the archer. There are strict rules for how the arrow is shot and points are awarded for how many arrows strike the mato, or target.
Kyudo and Focus
Since mental distractions have a major impact on how an arrow is shot and the course it takes in flight, a major focus in kyudo is to eliminate all mental interference and attain a state of mind that is completely free of all thoughts. It is believed by kyudo practitioners that if proper mechanics for preparing to shoot are followed and the mind is completely clear, the arrow not only will hit the target it must hit the target.
There are three ways of describing how the center of the target is hit in kyudo known as toteki, kanteki and zaiteki.
The first way, toteki, refers to the situation where the archer is able to hit the target through some combination of stance and manipulation of the bow but the state of mind of the archer and the mechanics of shooting the arrow may not be correct. This method often produces inconsistent shooting results.
The second way, kanteki, literally means “piercing the target.” In kanteki the archer no longer adopts improper technique in order to hit the target or tries to force the result. The mechanics of shooting the bow are correct and consistent and there is appropriate concentration before, during and after shooting.
The third and most difficult way to hit the target, zaiteki, literally means “existing in the target.” In this way the focus on the target is so strong and the visualization of the arrow’s flight is so clear that in essence the target and the archer become one and the same. The target is hit, in other words, before the arrow ever leaves the bow.
This may at first sound very esoteric and from the perspective of Western spatial sensibilities one may ask how an archer and a target standing many meters away from each other could be considered “one and the same.” Physical distance aside, however, the practical reality is that pathways of action can become so deeply engrained in the brain that all possibilities which would not lead to the arrow striking the mark are essentially eliminated.
We can often see this principle being applied to other types of actions, such as to take a very simple example sitting down in a chair, where once the steps are engrained deeply enough in our brains we simply carry it out over and over again without error. It can also be seen with people who are blind and perform certain activities that would seem to require the power of sight with a high degree of accuracy.
It is obviously much harder to achieve zaiteki in kyudo, however, because the possibility of missing the target is much higher. It is exactly in this space between tasks that are easy to carry out routinely and functions of a much higher order of complexity where many years of study and practice are required. Kyudo is a lifelong discipline and all shortcuts lead back to the starting point rather than the end of the path.
Principles of Kyudo and the Business World
Even for people who do not take up the study of the bow, the principles of the study of kyudo can be used several ways in business:
● You Can Shoot at Many Targets at the Same Time, But You Will Never Hit the Bullseye on Any of Them. Every job is comprised of tasks and doing tasks well is often the key to work and business success. Hitting one target of any complexity is hard enough, hitting multiple targets at the same time is impossible for even the most talented archer. The lesson in business is to discard the extraneous and aim at one thing at a time.
● Complete Focus is Not a Skill That Can Be Learned in One Day. Focus is not a skill that it is possible for anyone to master immediately; it is the result of a long process of training, making mistakes, practicing again and getting better. Focus is not a gift that some people have or do not have but rather a lifelong study and objective.
● The Key Part of Focus is Focusing on Yourself. As illustrated by the concept of toteki, if we simply focus on a specific outcome, we will often cut corners which will limit how strong our powers of focus will become. No matter how hard one concentrates on seeing the target, it will be very hard to really see it if the distractions hiding it from view are not removed.
● Become the Target. By practicing over and over, performing a business task can change from a highly uncertain chance future event to the realization of something that already clearly exists in our mind. A simple way to think of this is the difference between arriving at a lecture hall and trying to make a speech that we have not prepared for and having practiced the speech so many times in advance that it simply becomes yet another repetition of something that has already been performed.
Conclusion
Business is an extremely challenging – and interesting – forum for the study and practice of focus because, unlike in archery, the target often does not stay still. The principles of kyudo provide a helpful framework for thinking about the challenges to being focused, setting forth steps to strengthen our powers of concentration and thinking about focus not as a momentary event but rather as a lifelong discipline.
Note: In the interests of full disclosure, the martial art that I practice is kendo rather than kyudo. For my knowledge of the subject I am indebted to several books I have read on kyudo, including “Kyudo: The Japanese Art of Archery” by William R. B. Acker and “Illuminated Spirit: Conversations with a Kyudo Master” by Dan and Jackie DeProspero. People who are interested in learning more about kyudo may wish to read their informative books for further information. I also found very helpful the discussion of toteki, kanteki and zaiteki by Kevin and Donald Seiler in their book “Karate-do: Traditional Training for All Styles.”