Category Archives: Attention

Observe your thoughts like water rushing over a waterfall

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Observe your thoughts like water rushing over a waterfall. Watch them as they splash in the river below and flow downstream.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Jeffery Workman

What is your average attention span? How many minutes or even seconds can you maintain your ability to concentrate and remain focused on a specific activity or train of thought?

When was the last time you saw a waterfall? Beyond the water cascading over the edge, how often did you follow it long enough to see the splash below? For many of us, our focus stops there, and our attention reverts back to where the action is.

EXERCISE:

How often do you find yourself distracted and pulled away from people and things that require prolonged attention and focus?

How can you exercise and practice extending your attention to build and strengthen your mental muscles?

Bring yourself to this moment and experience it fully. Where attention goes, energy flows

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Bring yourself to this moment and experience it fully. Where attention goes, energy flows.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Shantung Kulkarni

During a recent holiday gathering I went out of my way to be a more focused observer of everyone in attendance.

Of particular note were the four children ages 2, 5, 7 and 10. Throughout our time together, it was interesting to see how present the kids were versus many of the adults.

With football games in the background and many cell phones in hand, it was obvious that many of the grown-ups could have benefited from some kid coaching.

EXERCISE:

Where are you most focused and attentive in your life?

How energetic do these experiences feel compared to when you are pulled away by competing distractions?

It’s hard to build momentum if you are divided in your attention

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“It’s hard to build momentum if you are divided in your attention.”

—James Clear, author of Atomic Habits

Image from Unsplash by Nubelson Fernandes

Most people are familiar with the phrase “United we stand, divided we fall.” As we nod in agreement, our thoughts often lean toward communities or teams that need to pull together to achieve a worthy goal.

These days, our attention may also include numerous global issues that require a united front.

Today’s quote offers a shift from the macro to the micro.

It points us inward to our individual worlds and frequent forays in multiple directions that often get us nowhere.

EXERCISE:

Where do you find your attention divided in your personal or professional efforts?

How and where would a more focused approach generate the momentum you need to achieve what you most desire?

Keep your attention on your present moment efforts

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Keep your attention on your present moment efforts. Forget the summit and focus on each step of your journey.

—Author Unknown

Image from Unsplash by Alessandro Erbetta

As kids on road trips, we kept asking our dad: Are we there yet? Most of our trips took less than two hours, but our “ants in our pants” impatience made them seem like eternity.

When our own children were young, Wendy and I lived in Michigan. Most of our road trips were ten to twelve hours, heading back east to visit family, and of course, our annual trip to the Pocono Mountains. With better car radios, cassette recorders, games, and interesting places to stop along the way, I don’t recall ever hearing those four little words.

EXERCISE:

How focused are you these days in reaching your personal and professional summits?

How would greater appreciation of the steps along the way make your journeys even more memorable and remarkable?

Friday Review: Attention

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Friday Review: Attention

What has held your attention over the last year? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.

 

“By going out of your mind, you come to your senses.”

 

 

“When you pay attention to boredom, it gets unbelievably interesting.”

 

 

 

 

“For lack of attention, a thousand forms of loveliness elude us everyday.”

 

 

 

If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality

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“If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?”

—Arthur Aron — A More Beautiful Question

Image from Unsplash by Kenny Eliason

We are all works in progress if we choose to be.

From the day we are born, we have the capacity to take in all types of inputs and mix them with our previous experiences. This ongoing journey helps us become a better version of ourselves.

When it comes to our prized abilities and qualities, we all likely have some level of competency.

EXERCISE:

What qualities and personal characteristics do you value most?

How would you rate yourself in these areas?

Where can and will you choose to focus your attention and efforts today?

 We can be telescopes or microscopes

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We can be telescopes or microscopes. We sharpen the mind through focused attention.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Jeff Nissen

Compared to other creatures in the animal kingdom our natural abilities to perceive our world can appear less than remarkable.

  • Dogs have 300 million scent-seeking receptors compared to six million for humans.
  • Bats navigate in the absence of light by sending out ultrasounds and can analyze the signals that bounce back.
  • Spiders construct sensory nets where their webs can capture the slightest vibrations.
  • Snakes and other reptiles are sensitive to infrared.
  • Bees and many birds are sensitive to ultraviolet.

Fortunately, we humans have a solid mix of sensory abilities and the wonderful capacity to expand them through the development of amazing technological innovations.

EXERCISE:

How and in what ways can you use your mind and focused attention to expand your perceptional abilities and interact more successfully with the world around you?

I think you should always bear in mind that entropy is not on your side

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“I think you should always bear in mind that entropy is not on your side.”

—Elon Musk, entrepreneur, investor, and business magnate

Image from Unsplash by Ravi Patel

I’ve recently noticed more and more people in my communities simplifying their lives as they age. Entropy causes both people and things to fall apart, and it takes considerable energy and effort to keep things in working order. With this in mind and with the hands of time always turning, we get to choose where to focus our energies to keep our most essential life elements going and slow entropy’s inevitable victory.

EXERCISE:

What essential infrastructure projects in your life are getting the most attention and energy? Where do the issues of health and quality relationship stand on your list of priorities? What other areas are most important to maintain in good working order for as long as possible?

Friday Review: Attention

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FRIDAY REVIEW: ATTENTION

What has been the focus of your attention over the last year? Here are a few attention-related posts you may have missed.

 

 

“In one hand I have a dream, and in the other I have an obstacle. Tell me, which one grabs your attention?”

 

 

 

“By going out of your mind, you come to your senses.”

 

 

 

 

“Today will be what you make of it.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”

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“Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.”

—Jessica Howell, American actress and producer

Image from Unsplash by Zdeněk Macháček

Consider the concepts of entropy and order.

The first is about how things pursue a random path of coming apart. The second pertains to things coming together in a more organized state.

Where have some of the good things in your life and our world fallen apart? How many of these issues are related to entropy, bad luck, or perhaps our lack of attention and effort to bring order to these matters?

Where are things beginning to fall together—not by chance, but by individuals and communities of shared vision and values choosing to create their own good once again?

EXERCISE:

Where and how can you play a bigger, more positive role in your world so that better things will fall together? Consider placing the following quote by Desmond Tutu somewhere you will see it often—and consider reading my post about it from a few years ago.

“Do your little bit of good whoever you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”