In a world brimming with distractions and constant stimuli fighting for our focus, it’s easy to lose the battle when the largest corporations are spending billions trying to keep our attention. However, attention should be treasured, because it is almost everything to us, or at least to our minds. Your attention guides your thought, dictates your focus, and shapes your perceptions of whatever is going on around you. Attention can determine whether you are happy or sad, feel fulfilled or empty. Knowing this, it is even more worrying, that the average attention span has dropped considerably during the past decades.
Still not convinced about the true influence of attention or you’re wondering how you can fix and guard your attention? Well, let me explain…
Attention refers to our cognitive ability to focus on specific stimuli, thoughts, or experiences while filtering out irrelevant or distracting information. It involves directing mental resources toward a particular aspect of the environment or one’s internal thoughts. Attention plays a crucial role in processing information, making decisions, and engaging with the world.
This is where the role of consciousness becomes important…
Consciousness, on the other hand, is the broader state of being aware and awake, encompassing our entire spectrum of thoughts, emotions, sensations, and perceptions. It is the subjective experience of being present and engaged with our surroundings and internal mental states. Consciousness enables us to have self-awareness, reflect on our thoughts, and make deliberate choices. So consciousness IS in a way everything to each one of us.
But how are those two now related?
Attention acts as a spotlight that illuminates specific aspects of our conscious experience. When we pay attention to something, it becomes a focal point within our consciousness. In this way, attention shapes the content of our conscious awareness. Our senses constantly receive an influx of data, but we become consciously aware of only a fraction of this information through the process of attention. When we feel a pain, that pain arises in our consciousness through the attention to that pain (of course, the stronger the pain the harder to ignore it).
So attention dictates what is in our current consciousness and consciousness is everything to us. It might take some time to dwell on those concepts if you have not thought or read about consciousness in the past. Attention truly is the driver of our lives and therefore it must be guarded and trained. If you have poor attention anything might float, toxic or not, in your consciousness for however long it will take to dwindle on its own.
According to Harvard University researchers, almost half the time our minds are caught up in thought. For the students in this study, these thoughts usually arise from two situations: dwelling in the past or worrying about the future. The former can cause sadness and depression, while the latter can produce stress and anxiety. If ignored, these emotions can grow overwhelming, which is why the research paper is titled: A Wandering Mind Is an Unhappy Mind. Where your attention lies entirely dictates if you are thinking about the past, the present, the present, or anything else.
Humans, in contrast to other animals, spend a lot of time thinking about things that aren’t happening right now: they reflect on things that have happened in the past, might happen in the future, or might never occur at all. In fact, the human brain’s default mode of functioning appears to be mind-wandering.
Okay, so attention is important, but how do I guard it or even train it?
One solution is without a doubt meditation. Researchers at the Columbia University Medical Center claim meditating can change the structure and function of the brain through relaxation, which can:
- Reduce stress, anxiety, and depression
- Increase focus and learning concentration
- Improve memory and attention span
- Build a stronger immune system and greater physical/psychological resilience
- Allow better sleep
Meditation, in its simplest terms, refers to learning how to pay attention. When used properly, meditation allows you to slow down and observe the world without judgment. There are many different types of meditation, but a commonly used practice and increasingly more popular one is mindfulness. Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.
If you are further interested in the benefits of meditation or have doubts regarding it, check out this article on healthline.com.
If you have a well-trained mind, you can reduce the half-life of negative emotions significantly. Simply observing those emotions and snapping out of your negative thoughts can be very beneficial. An untrained mind can dwell for days on negative emotions or be in constant worry about the future and regret the past. Being able to control your thoughts is like a superpower.
Therefore, I truly believe everyone should train their mind, or more specifically train their attention.