I suggested last month that we consider a statement of “merit” to prepare our new range as a space to integrate potential. Do you get how attention to this statement—the “merit” as a subject—is transposed into an object for design and development? Attention is referred to as the allocation of processing resources and it is one of the most intensely studied topics within psychology and cognitive neuroscience. People are not born with the skill of attention. Like many human skills it has to be developed. Its development and training start from a very early age. We try to grab the attention of a baby by making strange noises. Later we focus the attention of the child by reading them stories. As the children grow up, they are required to concentrate on whatever they study or read. All of these activities help to some extent to develop and focus attention but concurrently also focus on distraction. Both attention and distraction are developed simultaneously; the seed of free choice.
The two primary things we need to develop to expand the potential of human life are a relationship with influence and expanded attention. The relationship with influence is simply operating consciously with a definition of you contained. Attention is a lot more complex. Attention is closely related to consciousness. Both are integrative and yet also selective. Indeed, so close is this relationship that models of attention are asserted also to provide, through the corollary discharge of the attention control signals, two important aspects of consciousness; the sense of ownership of the conscious experience and its immunity to error though misidentification.
Attention is usually conceptualized as the boosting of signal-to-noise ratio both through inhibition of processing of unattended stimuli and through enhanced processing of attended stimuli. Consciousness refers primarily to phenomenal experience itself, and secondarily to aspects of that experience such as its wholeness, its feeling of self-ownership (first-person ontogeny), the ability to report its contents verbally or in other ways, and the awareness of being conscious (meta-consciousness).
Lack of attention is the largest issue that a human will face seeking potential. I will expand more on this topic next month—attention is required to form wise questions and delve into the unknown future. We have just been through and are still in tough economic times. I want to remind you to keep your attention on your priorities, they deserve your attention; in fact, they feed on it. When the moment, or a solution to a problem, is counter-intuitive you will surprise yourself more often than not by acting outside your normal patterns and in your own best interest. Enjoy yourself, as entertainment, anytime you leave the present to lean on the past or wonder about the future. Now is your best friend.
Steps to consider:
- Get grounded-feel what is real
- Adding energy before you start reduces effort
- Mindful helps you be present
- Own what you are doing or don’t do it
- Don’t watch the time but watch the flow
- When you are done be done in every way
Chriss
