“Life is attention, and what we are attending to determines to a great extent how we experience the world.” Patricia Madson
What we give our attention to grows. One life crisis has the power to overwhelm us by absorbing our full attention. On the other hand, a honed focus can transport us far away to a state of bliss.
Think of the painter who is fully immersed in her craft, spending her waking hours on her masterpiece. She and her art become more alive with each brush stroke. Her work of art becomes more beautiful as her attention is harnessed to produce it.
Today, the attentive person has become somewhat of an anomaly. Life is fractured and our attention is scattered hundreds of times per day. Too many inputs overwhelm us. We still have all the traditional inputs, but we’ve added technology—social media, email, text, podcasts, streaming networks, conversations with artificial intelligence, and more. Taken together, these ever-increasing inputs shatter our attention and cloud the way we experience the world.
The things we attend to dictate the quality of our lives. I know people whose worldview comes from talking heads in the media. Why? Because it’s what they allow to absorb their attention.
I’ve started shedding inputs from my life—the things that are taking too much of my attention—the things that are causing me to experience the world in a negative light. I’ve culled social media platforms, streaming channels, news outlets, and relationships from my life, so that I can attend to what matters most.
Why is this so important? Because life is attention, and what we are attending to determines to a great extent how we experience the world.
Share this post