Attention,
a military lingo used;
Pay
Attention, a phrase that is commonly used in classroom settings;
Being
attentive, an action that is cherished and valued by all
Attention
is something that is so hard to obtain or get from others or even ourselves.
Fun Fact: In
just the past 15 years, the average human attention span has decreased from 12
seconds, in 2000 to 8.25 seconds, in 2015?
With the
rapidly, evolving and changing world, the number of distractions has not only
increased but are also now fighting to be even more novel and fresh. With the
increased intensity, competition and amount of distractions, it is of no doubt
why our attention span has significantly decreased over the past 15 years.
However, we should not allow this trend to continue on as attention has many
significant functions that allow us to function on personal, interpersonal,
intrapersonal levels.
Attention
allows us to stay connected. It is through connections that we get to know what
is going on, which gives us a sense of what to do. Attention allows us to see
the full effects of our actions, which drives values, sense of direction,
motives, goals, missions etc.
Paying
Attention and being attentive to things that matter would be life-changing, pay attention and be attentive to the internal rather the external;
to the present instead of the past; to your loved ones instead of yourself.
3 simple ways to pay attention and be attentive
to your attention
Know your distractions
Everybody
is different and unique in what attracts their attention. For example, when you
are distracted, pay attention to what and why that distraction is able to get
your attention, it could be due to the sound, the color, the meaning, etc. Once
you figure out how your distractions get your attention, you can then learn to
effectively deal with oncoming distractions that keeps you away from getting a
better life.
Understand your attention
Only when
you understand your attention then you can enhance it. What is your level of
attention, how do you feel when you get so absorbed into doing an activity,
what gets your attention, how long does your attention lasts, etc. Start doing
one thing at a time to get a rough estimate on your capacity for attention, if
you are eating, only eat, if you are texting, text. Once you understand your attention, you can
work on ways to selectively increase and decrease it to have a better life.
Caring for your attention
Sometimes, we may want to get something done, or achieve a goal that we often abuse, misuse, direct, or control attention in the wrong manner. Treat your attention like a living person, do not overwork it, give it sufficient rest when it needs to and it will provide you with what you need or even more than you need.
"Having the simplest attention, create Legends"
