Are You Wasting Your Attention?

Nowadays, there are so many things to focus on; in both the real world and the virtual world. If someone lives in a big city, practically as soon as they leave their house their senses could be overloaded.
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There can be adverts on the side of taxis, buses, above buildings and on billboards. And if they were to get on a bus or a tube, there will most likely be even more adverts for them to look at.

One Step Back

Still, their senses may have been overloaded long before they have even opened their front door. As soon as they woke up, they may have reached for their Smartphone and checked their messages.

Along with this, they may have scrolled through at least one social media site to see what has been going on. This might have been something that they did just before they went to bed, meaning that it may have disrupted their sleep.

During The Day

If one is on their way to work or to meet a friend, it doesn’t mean that their Smartphone will end up being put away. This could be a time when they will check their Smartphone every now and then.

Once they get back home, they could continue to look through their Smartphone. Based on how much time they spend on their Smartphone, it will be as if it is a small child that needs a lot of attention in order to survive.

A Number of Areas

When they are online, there will be plenty of things that are screaming out for their attention. The media will try to catch their attention with information about what is taking place in the political arena and what is taking place in the world.

And while some of these stories might actually inform them, there will be others that will just fill their mind with useless information and things that they can’t do anything about. They may find that certain stories unsettle them, causing them to experience a fair amount anger or fear.

Attention Economy

When one is focusing on all these external distractions, it is going to mean that they are not focusing on more important things. At the same time, they might not even realise that they are wasting their attention.

However, the people that are trying to sell them things that they don’t really need and to define how they see the world will be pleased. They will have their attention and this might be the only thing that they need.

What Matters?

The time, energy and attention that they direct towards these distractions are going to be time, energy and attention that they won’t have to direct towards developing themselves and working towards their own goals. But even if they do want to change their life, they may find that it is incredibly difficult for them to do so.

This is to be expected, given how long they are likely to have behaved in this way for and the fact that they may be hooked on dopamine. Cutting down on how much time they allow themselves to be distracted for will take time and being compassionate towards themselves while happens will make it easier.

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Oliver JR Cooper
http://www.oliverjrcooper.co.uk