People are not born with the power of attention. To gain this ability you need to devote time and effort to train it, just like any other ability.”
The Importance of the Power of Attention
By Remez Sasson
In part 1 of this Series, I wrote about the power of intention and that everything that happens in the Universe begins with intention (Intention, Attention & Action – Part 1). We plant the seed (the intention), nurture it (attention) and then harvest it (action). We are now ready for Part 2 – the power of attention.
In case you wondered, none of us were born with the ability to pay attention! In order to pay attention, you have to learn how to focus your mind. The mind left untrained “will shift constantly from one subject to another.” We may all know this, simply because we have learned that something negative is likely to happen if we DON’T pay attention. And we find out that the benefit of paying attention is its own reward.
Paying attention is actually a survival skill. It is crucial to protect us from anything that is dangerous or not important and help us make important decisions. Despite that, paying attention is a constant challenge for most people.
Thankfully, there are strategies and tricks (yes, and even medications) that can aid us in this endeavor. Here are a couple of suggestions:
1. Mindfulness
This strategy cultivates the brain’s ability to pay attention to specific cues. One of the tools of mindfulness is meditation, which can train us to stay calmer and more focused, even if we are experiencing negative thoughts.
Mindfulness can also help us develop greater personal awareness. For more information on mindfulness, please feel free to read a series of articles that I wrote on the subject, beginning with this one: https://authenticlifecoach.net/mindfulness-matters/
2. Daydreaming
I know it seems counter-intuitive, but daydreaming can actually help us to pay attention, because it gives us a chance to remember more effectively, solve problems, become more creative, and maintain greater mental health. Clearly, the amount of time spent daydreaming needs to be controlled, so we don’t use it just for escape, but the experience can refresh our minds and make them more effective.
Other Tips to Strengthen the Power of Attention
Remez Sasson (The Importance of the Power of Attention) says that we can turn every action into an exercise for developing the skill of paying attention. We just need to focus our minds on whatever we are doing and try to fix that attention without creating stress and tension. Sasson has a book titled Focus Your Attention, that provides 9 tips for strengthening your power of attention.
In the next and final part of this series, we will look at the importance of taking action, as the final step in acquiring what you want in life. Stay tuned!
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