--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We often fool ourselves that we are…" description: "\"We often fool ourselves that we are concentrating because we fix our attention on wavering objects.\" — B.K.S. Iyengar" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/b-k-s-iyengar-949_attention_we-often-fool-ourselves-that-we-are-conc_2155572.png" --- # We often fool ourselves that we are concentrating because… ![“We often fool ourselves that we are concentrating because we fix our attention on wavering objects.” quote by B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/b-k-s-iyengar-949_attention_we-often-fool-ourselves-that-we-are-conc_2155572.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/b-k-s-iyengar-949_attention_we-often-fool-ourselves-that-we-are-conc_2155572.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea6/b-k-s-iyengar-949_attention_we-often-fool-ourselves-that-we-are-conc_2155572.png) > “We often fool ourselves that we are concentrating because we fix our attention on wavering objects.” [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We mistake fixation on shifting objects for concentration, confusing distraction with focus. **In simple terms:** Focusing on changing things feels like concentration but isn’t. Key Takeaway Seek stable focus, not fleeting attention. Themes mindfulness concentration illusion Mood calm thoughtful Type spiritual practical When to use this quote - meditation practice - study sessions - creative work Key Concepts attention perception mental discipline Questions to Reflect On - What truly steady your mind? - How do you differentiate focus from distraction? A Different Perspective True concentration requires steadiness, not just activity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Attention Wavering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention-wavering-4551146/) [Concentrating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentrating/) [Concentrating Fix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentrating-fix-4551145/) [Fix Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fix-attention-389999/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Fool Concentrating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool-concentrating-4551144/) [Wavering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wavering/) ## Related quotes > [Yoga is about the will, working with intelligence and self-reflexive consciousness, can free us from the inevitability of the wavering mind and outwardly directed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/yoga-is-about-the-will-working-with-intelligence-and-self-reflexive/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [Let us fix our attention out of ourselves as much as possible; let us chase our imagination to the heavens, or to the utmost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/let-us-fix-our-attention-out-of-ourselves-as-much-as-possible-let-us/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [Novelty may fix our attention not even on the service but on the celebrant. You know what I mean. Try as one may to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/novelty-may-fix-our-attention-not-even-on-the-service-but-on-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Anyways, the secret is, always fix their attention \*away\* from where the slippery stuff's going on. That's the first law of magic, Specs. Misdirection.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/anyways-the-secret-is-always-fix-their-attention-away-from-where-the/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“that we conduct our thoughts along different ways, and do not fix our attention on the same objects.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/that-we-conduct-our-thoughts-along-different-ways-and-do-not-fix-our/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [Every year of my life I grow more convinced that it is wisest and best to fix our attention on the beautiful and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cecil/every-year-of-my-life-i-grow-more-convinced-that-it-is-wisest-and/) [Richard Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cecil/) > [What an absurd thing it is to pass over all the valuable parts of a man, and fix our attention on his infirmities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/what-an-absurd-thing-it-is-to-pass-over-all-the-valuable-parts-of-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [To fix your attention on the best is to surround yourself with the best, and to become the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-d-wattles/to-fix-your-attention-on-the-best-is-to-surround-yourself-with-the/) [Wallace D. 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A leader who fluctuates back and forth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-beth-jones/belief-in-oneself-is-a-crucial-quality-of-leadership-because-a-house/) [Laurie Beth Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-beth-jones/) > [Man liveth from hour to hour, and knoweth not what may happen; Influences circle him on all sides, and yet must he answer for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-farquhar-tupper/man-liveth-from-hour-to-hour-and-knoweth-not-what-may-happen/) [Martin Farquhar Tupper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-farquhar-tupper/) ## More by B.K.S. Iyengar > [It is through the body that everything comes to the mind. It is through and with your body that you have to reach realization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/it-is-through-the-body-that-everything-comes-to-the-mind-it-is/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [A yogi's brain extends from the bottom of the foot to the top of his head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/a-yogi-s-brain-extends-from-the-bottom-of-the-foot-to-the-top-of-his/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [Is it necessary to practice all these asanas, further and further? Is it necessary to develop scientific researches further and further? To a yogi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/is-it-necessary-to-practice-all-these-asanas-further-and-further-is/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [The best way to overcome fear is to face with equanimity the situation of which one is afraid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/the-best-way-to-overcome-fear-is-to-face-with-equanimity-the/) [B.K.S. 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Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [We have two physical eyes, but every pore of the body is also an eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/we-have-two-physical-eyes-but-every-pore-of-the-body-is-also-an-eye/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [Breath is the vehicle of consciousness and so, by its slow measured observation and distribution, we learn to tug our attention away from external…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/breath-is-the-vehicle-of-consciousness-and-so-by-its-slow-measured/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [Yoga releases the creative potential in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/yoga-releases-the-creative-potential-in-life/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [Do not live in the future, only the present is real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/do-not-live-in-the-future-only-the-present-is-real/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) [Explore all 322 B.K.S. Iyengar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. 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Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We often fool ourselves that we are concentrating because we fix our attention on wavering objects.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "B.K.S. 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