Finding what matters
How we use our attention impacts our emotions, our brain function, and our ability to work, learn, and grow. Given that, you'd think it's pretty important to notice what we focus on! Our very survival depends on how we allocate our attention.
Yet, it's well known that we can only pay attention to a limited amount of information at a time. Attention is a super high-value resource. With a processing limit of 120 bits per second, this means we can barely understand two people talking at the same time!
Psychologists define attention as "the ability to actively process specific information in the environment while tuning out other details." Even from birth we have attention.
William James wrote that,
"Attention is the taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what may seem several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought…It implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others."
The nervous system is, after all, an example of selective communication over very noisy channels. Our brains focus on what we think is meaningful and reject everything else, but how often do we unconsciously let others decide what's meaningful to us?
Creating a values filter
One writer I like (Mark Manson) uses the phrase, "optimize ruthlessly for what matters."
I love this. It's simple—but not easy. I like the way Manson identifies values and goals: Goals are external and concrete: buy a boat, save a dog from a puppy mill, read fifty books. Values, on the other hand, are a never-ending internal process: honesty, curiosity, connection, respect, openness, kindness, learning.
If I value humor, I might set a goal of laughing out loud ten times a day. (I watch comedians to help me along...I'm loving Jim Gaffigan right now!) Note that the goal is finite, the value ongoing.
What does this have to do with Feldenkrais?
Becoming more self-aware helps us navigate our values. Knowing more about our inner states, such as noticing when we override pain or avoid the easy path, is a form of increased self awareness, as is knowing how to access variation, choice, and joy in our movement.
All of these help us translate inner states to outer actions.
Here's a good example of that translation: Someone recently reached out to me with a business proposal for the Feldenkrais Treasury, my online streaming site. With each conversation, I noticed I stopped breathing and felt my chest constrict. My brain finally caught up with my body, and I realized this person was a bad fit for me.
Thankfully, I had the awareness to notice that I wasn't breathing. Something was off, and in our next conversation it became obvious what that was, but the first clue was my breathing. Think about it: breath is our life force. Do we really want to hang out with someone who makes us stop breathing?!?
Focusing attention on what matters helped me avoid a bad situation and stay true to my values of authenticity, providing benefit to the world, and living lightly on the earth. As with all relationships, interactions, and life decisions, if I didn't have clarity, I would have gotten caught in the sticky web of confused, misplaced values and then wondered why I felt sick! That's just me.
What do you focus on? How do you optimize for what matters? When do you stop breathing?
* * *
Useful articles on attention management:
Productivity isn't about time management, it's about attention management by Adam Grant, NYT, May 2019
The Attention Diet, by Mark Manson, markmanson.net
How to truly, actually focus on what you're doing by Cal Newport, NYT, January 2019
Why it's so hard to pay attention, explained by science, Fast Company, September 2015