Attention is a tool whose importance we often underestimate. The ability to achieve a high degree of concentration on what is important, and to choose from a huge mass of information what is significant. Meanwhile, the development of attention does not require special devices, sports uniforms or a certain space. 6 ways to manage your attention.
Your life is this space, you just need to decide what to fill it with. Where we spend energy, time, and resources-this is our life. Here are some arguments in favor of starting to develop the skill of attention management.
And what if I say that you are attention!? You are actually made up of what comes into the focus of your attention. How does this happen? Your attention is the lens of the video camera. And all that gets into it is a film of a movie about your life. Has it ever happened to you when the desire to start a new life on monday comes over you?
A life that will certainly be filled with important goals, strong habits, bright events. And here you are briskly starting monday morning and even tuesday morning you are still awake, and by Wednesday there are circumstances that capture all your “passionate desire”. And it, of course, gives up under the onslaught of insurmountable obstacles.
Do you recognize yourself? Who is controlling the lens at this moment? When did you manage to switch your attention from your goals to the circumstances? We will learn to manage our attention — and life will be the way we want to live.
Here are some more arguments:
#1. What we focus on is increasing and growing.
Good relationships are possible only if you pay them due attention. To become a professional in any field, you need to pay attention to this area and invest time and effort in your business.
Do you remember about the 10,000 hours that you need to earn in order to become a master in your business? Children also need attention so that they grow up happy and open, and your relationship only gets closer over the years. To be able to manage your attention means to direct it into something that will change your life for the better.
#2. Attention manages your resources: time, strength, skills.
Focusing on a specific task will help you complete it faster and leave more time for rest. When you focus only on the things that are important to you, your personal effectiveness increases.
#3. If you control attention, you strengthen the state of awareness.
This means that you become the master of your life. Circumstances no longer control you, it is simply impossible. After all, you decide for yourself what is important to pay attention to.
Where to start?6 ways to manage your attention.
Today, an incredible number of practices and exercises for concentration of attention have been created, gigabytes of information have been written about all this. But since you continue to read the article, apparently, not everything has been said yet.
Attention can be superficial. Then we only glide with our eyes, instantly switching from one to the other. And it happens that we suddenly turn on all the senses in one thing and do not notice the rest. The whole world for us is focused only in this moment. That’s exactly how attention feels. When the whole being is focused only on where you have decided to direct your attention, and everything else simply does not matter.
Let’s try to check how this works in practice.
Look around you — what objects are surrounded by blue? Have you noticed these? And now close your eyes and try to name the objects of green color? Just don’t peek.
Well, did it work out? How many items of green color were you able to name? Not so much, right? And all because the attention was directed to objects of blue color. This is also called narrow attention.
Do not rush to get upset if you could not name a single object of green color. I have good news for you — you can learn to expand your attention so that it accommodates more objects.
And eventually become the master of your attention. Exercise like in the gym, lifting dumbbells. Only in our case, this will be the moment when we will notice over and over again that we have been distracted, and return ourselves to what is really important.
How to start training your attention?
First, select the most relevant task at the moment. This is important, because the intention to solve it will be much stronger.
For example, you will soon have a conversation with your boss about a vacation or promotion, salary, etc. The task is to feel strength and determination in this conversation. Let’s take a step-by-step look at the ways to manage attention.
#1.Take responsibility.
This is the first thing to do. And also have a clear intention and determination to control your attention in order to direct it to those areas that are important to you right now.
#2.Ask questions. 6 ways to manage your attention.
They will direct your attention. You can start asking yourself: what will help me feel determined? How does a determined person move? What qualities do I have that speak of strength and confidence? Only it is important not just to ask questions, but to look for answers to them.
To be in it with all your attention, to hear yourself, to feel how important it is, to look at yourself, exploring. The right questions help direct our brain to search for answers. What are the correct questions in this case? Those, the answer to which will radically affect your life.
#3.Become a researcher. 6 ways to manage your attention.
Use your attention to find out what is necessary to solve the problem. Let mindfulness become a habit, add new accents. Expand the questions into the field of feelings. This means being aware not only of thoughts, but also of feelings. How do I feel now? What’s happening to me? And you will see how the brain itself highlights the answers to these questions, various solutions to the problem in the field of attention. And life is gradually being built according to your rules.
#4. Become an observer.
Note — how long you pay attention to what is important, and what factors distract. If in the process it turns out that attention is focused on the negative, on what turns off the power, on what does not work, try to switch it to your strengths, to your values and resources.
#5. Create anchors.
Place “reminders” — hang pictures, set an alarm clock, ask a friend. They will return you to the task, include you back in the process.
#6. Dive deeper — keep the focus on the essence. 6 ways to manage your attention.
For example, if you intend to learn something, it is important not only to listen carefully to a teacher or mentor,but also to keep the focus on why you need to master it.
Do not try to implement all the steps from the list at once.
Remember the power of small steps that leads to meaningful results?
Even if you choose only one method from this list and apply it, it will not take much time before you feel the first results. After all, once you start, you will notice that there are incredibly many factors around that are trying to take away your attention.
This will help you see how valuable your attention is, and start practicing with even more passion. And then, no matter what you do, no matter what you practice, in fact, you will work out one skill — the ability to keep your attention on what is important to you.
The main thing is to set priorities. And then you will not be distracted by what is uninteresting, unproductive. With the development of this skill, awareness will definitely grow. You will notice the details of each moment and make an informed choice.
If you learn to manage attention, you will not notice yourself how you have become in control of life, or rather, to live your own life, and not someone else’s.
