Don’t pay attention, invest attention
Why do we call it “pay” attention? Is attention like currency, that is an expense? As a result of the results that come when attention is expended, it would have been better phrased “investing attention.”
There is no better investment of effort than paying attention. In business, life, recreation, finances and relationships, successful results are dramatically increased when we pay attention, and damaging results are reduced. In critical environments such as the military, or NASA space missions, they call it “situation awareness.” Dangerous civilian endeavors call it “having your head on a swivel.”
Start with considering the negative. The events which cause setbacks in life are usually a result of not paying attention.
A job loss could often be prevented if the employee had been paying attention to trends in their industry or company. Even if it was not preventable, the negative effects from a job loss could be minimized if the person saw the job loss
coming and adjusted their finances in advance, or began looking for other employment ahead of the unemployment.
Illness is often the result of preventable factors. Many common diets and daily routines are known to be harmful to human health, but many people do not pay attention to warnings from the scientific or medical community. I still see a lot of cars in drive-throughs every day. The food selections in shopping carts of supermarket checkouts is indicative of people not paying attention to their nutritional intake. In this case, it may be a function of being distracted by attractive or seductive marketing and advertising.
Most injuries would have not occurred if the victim were paying attention to their driving, use of tools in the home, or safety measures at work. Divorce and family problems are an easy example. What is the most common reason given by a departing spouse when asked about their complaints? “He/she didn’t pay enough attention to me.”
When people look back on their life and identify reasons for their difficulties, the list of common culprits almost always includes divorce, medical issues, loss of job, or accident. Any of these can be a life-changing event, and add a few of them together over the years, and it can be a debilitating combination. If a majority of these misfortunes were a result of inattention, lives could be effectively changed by making “paying attention” a major life focus.
On the plus side, paying attention, even to small details, can make a world of difference. Remembering a clients name at the right time could mean the major sale is made, leading to success and promotion. Noticing the interests of your partner in a new relationship could be the spark that cements the attachment, leading to a strong partnership with a quality person, rather than chasing mediocre companions for the rest of your life.
Paying attention to home prices and trends in certain neighborhoods could mean identifying a real deal when it arises. Watching industry news over time can distinguish a new business idea, stock pick, or job function. It is unlikely that one of these “eureka” moments will change a persons life overnight. But by chaining together a life of awareness, and combining facts learned over the years, a person has a more clear picture of the world around them, and can navigate it more appropriately.
It seems obvious that people should be paying attention to begin with , and you might think you already are. But are you truly aware of what you don’t know? If you weren’t paying attention, wouldn’t you be blind to it, simply by the fact that you “aren’t paying attention?”
The frenzy of modern life makes it hard to pay close attention. In a world where “multitasking” is an apparent virtue, each task is performed on a more shallow basis, and gets less attention. Are you emailing someone while talking on the phone? Both parties do not get the benefit of your utmost communication skills. Maybe one different word in the email would have more clearly motivated the recipient. Maybe a more enthusiastic reaction to the story of the person on the phone would have solidified the relationship.
Talking on the cell phone while driving to the store can distract attention from the task of driving, which has been proven to increase accident rates. Sitting in bed with a broken leg for weeks cannot help the results of your life. Of course, worse could happen, and don’t even get me going with text messaging. At the same time, the person on the other end of the phone can’t help but feel less fulfilled than if you were sitting at home, focusing on them.
I’ll bet that while you are playing Xbox 360, your home is deteriorating. The hour that you were online could be spent walking around your property, looking for small things that can be fixed for a few minutes and a few bucks. A leaking gutter, loose stair, cracked tile, or peeling paint can turn into toxic mold, broken arm, infected foot, or rotted window sill respectively. Fixing the symptoms is easy, fixing the consequences is not. Those who fix the symptoms make being financially sound look easy. Those who are forced to fix the consequences have the excuse of “unexpected house repairs” forcing them into financial distress.
Are you normally watching TV while playing with the kids? Over time, what will be their attachment to you, vs. a scenario where the activity was about you and them? A face-to-face activity such as playing catch (yeah, I know it is a cliché) has to be better than a shoulder-to-shoulder activity like TV. When your kid is 24, and not as close to you as you would have liked, will you even be aware that it is because of these seemingly little things? If you are the kind of person who would say that your kids/wife/family are most important, and would come before anything else, then realize that this choice happens everyday, not just when there is a crisis.
That’s the problem with life, the cause-and-affect is not distinct enough for most people to see clearly. That is why paying attention is such an undervalued skill. Things don’t just happen by themselves, there is always a reason for each success or failure. That reason may have occurred with a choice of action weeks, months, or even years in the past.
There are an infinite number of examples of where an when paying attention more could be to your benefit. In fact, the
real answer is “all the time.” A significant obstacle to being able to do this is the complexity of life, and daily routine. If your life is filled with trivial pursuits, and too many obligations to stay ahead of, then the immediacy of paying attention to details will be impossible. The starting point of making your brain more aware of your environment is simplifying life. I’ll bet you find life is even more enjoyable that way.
And I’ll bet that a few years from now, you’ll look back and wonder how you were so fortunate that life is going so well for you. Did you ever notice that some people are always lucky? Hopefully you will realize that it wasn’t luck after all.
