When we undertake diversity and inclusion courses online, it’s important that we do not approach it as just another training. When anything happens online, there is a tendency to use it as an opportunity to multitask. Especially when you’re working from home, potential distractions abound.
If we fail to focus during these sessions, mastering the essence of what we’re learning is close to impossible.
There is a lot of compelling content on diversity and inclusion in the workplace that demands that participants concentrate and be present during each session. This is necessary to grasp key principles and messages.
Without a higher level of understanding, which comes with absolute focus, the potential for transformation is limited.
The Need for Sharper Focus
It is not merely a commitment to being attentive that is required or avoiding distractions. Focus starts with a decision to gear our minds for optimal learning. When we prepare by telling ourselves we are about to embark on an important or challenging task, we are more likely to bring our focus to the matter at hand, which in this case is online DEI classes.
To some extent, the anticipated significance of online learning on diversity is equal to the effort we put into benefiting from it. The more we expect that diversity and inclusion courses online will enrich us and prove insightful, the more motivated we will be to focus.
The goal is to internalize and remember what we learn in online equality and diversity training. If we read Psychology Today articles, they tell us that conscious memorization operates serially. This means we pay attention to one thing at a time. The more we shift our attention around, the bigger the disruption to the process of encoding and consolidating memories. Things become fragmented and we fail to take it all in. We basically allow ourselves to weaken memorization.
Preparation is critical for key learning. This means that being mentally rested in advance of learning something that is demanding is essential.
If we are already stressed, anxious, or tired, this is not the time to immerse ourselves in training that will draw on the full range of our emotional, psychological, and introspective resources to have the greatest impact. We should be aware that some deep processing, with direct application in our own lives, will be needed as part of diversity and inclusion online courses.
Don’t Forget to Expand your Focus
Harnessing focus will support honest reactions and interactions during discussions and enhance the possibility of connecting with others at the right level. Focus is about being in the moment; a matter of respecting what one is engaging in.
The absolute minimum requirement for living the principles underpinning diversity and inclusion is respect. So, the ability to start with the right degree of respect for the learning and training, in a sense, pays homage to the fact that each individual will strive to improve these areas of their attitudes and behavior.
We will know we are not experts in diversity, inclusion, and equality going into the learning. It is an expansive field and one that’s evolving too. The developmental curve will be steep and like children learning new things, we need to be reminded that if we concentrate, we will be filled with the wonder that comes with new encounters.
Focus will allow us to pick up all the detail, nuanced thinking, and contradictions that need to be resolved within ourselves.
With focus comes passion. Approaching diversity and inclusion in the workplace with a sense of detachment will not work. There will be both positive and negative emotions that are important to this process.
Through the process of online learning for greater diversity, we will get in better touch with ourselves and become prepared to confront real-life situations. With focus, we will notice, more keenly, our internal life in response to our training and benefit from greater maturity.
We should never forget that we become what we focus on.
