{"id":38019,"date":"2021-06-02T15:25:26","date_gmt":"2021-06-02T19:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=38019"},"modified":"2021-06-14T10:32:01","modified_gmt":"2021-06-14T14:32:01","slug":"directing-attention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/directing-attention\/","title":{"rendered":"Directing Attention: How to Achieve Your Goals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What does directing attention have to do with achieving your goals<\/a>? What three factors affect how you focus your attention?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your attention is the process your consciousness uses to take in and evaluate information<\/a>. Achieving your goals requires directing attention towards your goals without losing focus. However, there are three main factors that affect your ability to maintain focus<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue below to learn why attention is crucial to achieving your goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

How Does Attention Work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Consciousness means having an awareness of many experiences and ordering them. This order can come from intention: what you want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if you\u2019re hungry, you may feel agitated or your stomach may growl, directing attention towards food. Thinking about food may start to order your consciousness until you satisfy your hunger. However, someone could perceive their hunger and decide not to act on it. They might be dieting, trying to save money, or participating in a political protest. In this way, our intentions are prioritized and organized as goals. Most people\u2019s intentions are basic, like trying to live a healthy life<\/a>. But people whose intentions break from the social norms<\/a> of their times, such as artists or poets, show it\u2019s possible to have intentions that differ from those we\u2019re conditioned to seek.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Directing Your Attention<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Achieving your goals requires directing your attention<\/a>. Your attention is the process your consciousness uses to take in and evaluate information. Here\u2019s how it works:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Something comes to your attention. <\/strong>For example, if you\u2019re driving, you don\u2019t need to think about the movements of each car around you, as long as they behave the way you\u2019d expect. But if a car in front of you is swerving slightly out of its lane, it comes to your attention.<\/li>
  2. You identify what\u2019s happening. <\/strong>You compare what\u2019s happening against your other memories of similar events. In the car example, your consciousness is trying to determine if you\u2019re seeing a distracted driver, a drunk driver, an inexperienced driver, or something else based on previous experience.<\/li>
  3. You decide what to do. <\/strong>Once you\u2019ve identified what\u2019s happening, you decide how to act. For example, if you think the driver may be drunk, you may pull over and call 911. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    This complex sequence of events happens in seconds or less, repeatedly, every day. You can also think of attention as an investment of energy, or psychic energy. Doing work requires energy, and you need to replenish it regularly to do work consistently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Because our thoughts, feelings, and memories are shaped by how we direct our attention, it\u2019s the most important tool we have to order our consciousness and improve our quality of life. <\/strong>Successful people cultivate the ability to focus their attention on exactly what they want to focus on so they can achieve their goals. This means not getting distracted and focusing on the goal for as long as it takes to achieve it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Factors That Shape Attention<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    A variety of factors affect how people choose to focus their attention:<\/p>\n\n\n\n