The Link Between Paying Attention and Success
There's a common grumble, generally directed at the young, that they
are constantly distracted by texting, video games, and other ways to
stop paying attention. But few of us have truly mastered the skill of
paying attention, or even realize that it is a skill. This is because we
haven't looked deeply into how awareness works.
Attention, which is another way of describing focused awareness, is
important because whatever you pay attention to grows in importance and
significance. If you focus on your job, your relationship, or a favorite
hobby, your attention nourishes a feedback loop--you become better at
what you pay attention to. Your brain strengthens or weakens in specific
areas depending on the input it receives, and paying attention provides
concentrated input. Attention can’t be faked or forced. When a
schoolteacher scolds an unruly class with, “Pay attention, people!” he
may get results for a few minutes, but the demand loses its effect very
quickly. Asking a restless mind to settle down and pay attention is even
more futile. The secret is to know how attention can be mastered.
There are some basic requirements to be met. The first is being
centered, the skill we covered to begin this series of
posts. Distraction is self-defeating. Second, your awareness focuses
naturally when you have a desire. We focus on what we want. Third,
attention works best when combined with intention – envisioning a way to
fulfill your desire. When the three ingredients come together – you are
centered, you have a desire, you intend to fulfill your desire –
attention becomes extremely powerful. The tale is told by anyone who has
fallen in love at first sight; it’s the definition of laser focus. But
for some people the same focused attention applies to ambition, money,
and power.
Attention becomes more elevated when you focus on objects of a deeper
inner longing. Almost everyone has wondered “Who am I?” but the people
who actually find out are driven by a desire to know. This desire is as
strong as other people’s desire for more money, status, and power. If
you ask spiritual questions casually, they amount to very little. God
could send you a telegram with the answers and it wouldn’t change your
life. The path must be driven by desire. Let’s say that you experience a
moment of inner peace that has arrived without expectation. It’s just
there, appearing in the midst of an ordinary day.
You might casually notice it, or a train of thought could begin, as follows:
- I’m at peace. How unusual. I like this.
- I wonder where it came from.
- I want to find out, because it would be good to be at peace more often.
- I’m going to follow this experience up. It’s too valuable to forget.
This is a natural train of thought, and every self-aware person I
know has followed it, not necessarily from a moment of inner peace.
Some have experienced sudden joy; others felt protected and looked
after; a few sensed a spiritual presence that caught them totally by
surprise. What they had in common was that they really paid attention to
their experience. The process can be simplified into three steps. The
next time you have an inner experience of peace, joy, love, inspiration,
or insight, pause for a moment.
Step 1: Notice what is happening. Sit quietly without distraction. Soak up the experience without commenting or interrupting it.
Step 2: As the moment fades, don’t rush away from it. Consider
how significant it is. Put the significance into context, reflecting on
how different you feel from your ordinary self.
Step 3: Make the experience valuable. Consider
how transformed your life would be if you could repeat the experience.
Even more, think about a life filled with joy, peace, and love. See it
in your mind’s eye; feel how beautiful your life would become.
In these three steps you are activating the emotional brain and the
cortex, or higher brain, the first by fully feeling your experience, the
second by applying thought and reflection. This is how dreams come
true. You combine a vision of possibilities with the kind of focused
intention that creates new pathways in the brain. The world “in here” is
connected always to the world “out there.” You can’t seize an
opportunity without being aware of it; you can’t nourish a new
possibility without wanting to.
When awareness, desire, and intention
come together, you are mastering the skill of paying attention.
Deepak Chopra MD, FACP, founder of The Chopra Foundation
and co-founder of The Chopra Center for Wellbeing, is a world-renowned
pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation, and is
Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolism. He
is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and a member of the
American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists. Chopra is the author
of more than 85 books translated into over 43 languages, including
numerous New York Times bestsellers. His latest books are The Healing Self co-authored with Rudy Tanzi, Ph.D. and Quantum Healing (Revised and Updated): Exploring the Frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine. www.deepakchopra.com
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