The Power of Focus- A life lesson
As a home school mom, I'm in my brain a lot. I'm planning, and I'm thinking about school subjects the girls need to learn. They say as a home school teacher you are the lead learner, so I spend time re-learning with them. Sometimes it's math or spelling or whatever. It's always interesting, and I love it (the re-earning process). My favorite is history, because I have forgotten a lot of the details. In all fairness, though, it's not exactly new information, so there are not a lot of show stoppers.
However, this week, I came across some information that stopped me in my tracks. My jaw dropped. It's not about history. It's a current event. Well, it's a current fact.
According to recent information, the average attention span is down to 8 seconds. Yes, 8 seconds. Well, actually, it may be less by now. This was a couple of years ago. But let's just assume that we can still focus for 8 seconds.
My question is, is 8 seconds long enough to think about what we need to think about in order to live a good life?
Are we thinking about our marriages in only 8 seconds?
Are we thinking about how to be a better friend in 8 seconds?
8 Seconds is a long time when you ride a bull, but it's not really a long time to think about something, or to focus on it.
Our ability to think and focus is, perhaps, our most important life skill. You need it to get through school. You need it to excel at work. You need it to be a life learner. More importantly, you need it to think about spirituality, your marriage, your friendships, your parenting style, your diet, your life plans, what's wrong with the world, and how can you help it be a better place.
I didn't learn how to focus at school. I wish I had. I didn't learn it in college. I learned it at work. I learned it from a leadership coach, as I was working on big problems that effected numerous people and their incomes. Well, I learned how important it was, and then I realized that for me, it was a nutrition issue, so I had to figure that out.
I WISH I had learned it earlier. I have no regrets, ultimately, but I wish I would have been a better thinker earlier in my life.
What if our nations leaders have an attention span of only 8 seconds? Hopefully they don't, and I'm just over thinking it, but it really does worry me that we are losing the ability to think. The smarter our phones and gadgets get, the less we can focus on being present and "peeling the onion" on any particular topic.
As a business manager one of the most wonderful lessons I learned was how important it was to think about how I think. It's nerdy sounding, but it was a new idea to me.
There are times to get out of your head and take action, but there are also times to be still and think. Make time for no screens. Make time to sit and think, early in the morning. Decide what you need to think about, and take some notes on a notepad as you think. It will develop your ability to focus and your ability to problem solve.
The power of focus is the power to use our brains to advance as a society into a better place. We can be more considerate, more loving, more economical, more efficient and more healthy. But how? That's a good question to think about for a few minutes.
However, this week, I came across some information that stopped me in my tracks. My jaw dropped. It's not about history. It's a current event. Well, it's a current fact.
According to recent information, the average attention span is down to 8 seconds. Yes, 8 seconds. Well, actually, it may be less by now. This was a couple of years ago. But let's just assume that we can still focus for 8 seconds.
My question is, is 8 seconds long enough to think about what we need to think about in order to live a good life?
Are we thinking about our marriages in only 8 seconds?
Are we thinking about how to be a better friend in 8 seconds?
8 Seconds is a long time when you ride a bull, but it's not really a long time to think about something, or to focus on it.
Our ability to think and focus is, perhaps, our most important life skill. You need it to get through school. You need it to excel at work. You need it to be a life learner. More importantly, you need it to think about spirituality, your marriage, your friendships, your parenting style, your diet, your life plans, what's wrong with the world, and how can you help it be a better place.
I didn't learn how to focus at school. I wish I had. I didn't learn it in college. I learned it at work. I learned it from a leadership coach, as I was working on big problems that effected numerous people and their incomes. Well, I learned how important it was, and then I realized that for me, it was a nutrition issue, so I had to figure that out.
I WISH I had learned it earlier. I have no regrets, ultimately, but I wish I would have been a better thinker earlier in my life.
What if our nations leaders have an attention span of only 8 seconds? Hopefully they don't, and I'm just over thinking it, but it really does worry me that we are losing the ability to think. The smarter our phones and gadgets get, the less we can focus on being present and "peeling the onion" on any particular topic.
As a business manager one of the most wonderful lessons I learned was how important it was to think about how I think. It's nerdy sounding, but it was a new idea to me.
There are times to get out of your head and take action, but there are also times to be still and think. Make time for no screens. Make time to sit and think, early in the morning. Decide what you need to think about, and take some notes on a notepad as you think. It will develop your ability to focus and your ability to problem solve.
The power of focus is the power to use our brains to advance as a society into a better place. We can be more considerate, more loving, more economical, more efficient and more healthy. But how? That's a good question to think about for a few minutes.
Comments
Post a Comment