Are You Investing Your Attention Wisely?
Our attention is a valuable form of currency, we choose how to spend it like we do our time and money. Yet, in modern times our attention is big business — there are advertisers, influencers, marketers and various companies all trying to cash in on it.
Why? Because, where attention goes energy flows, creating consumption, discourse and awareness.
Even in our daily lives, where we focus our attention can help or hinder our growth because in giving our attention to something we create awareness around it. In a sense, we amplify more of that thing in our lives making it in our best interest to focus our attention wisely.
Given the value of our attention — how we invest it should be top priority.
Influence of Modern Media —
With the influence of modern media, it’s easy to be pulled into the attention field of others. You’ve likely experienced this anytime you’ve done a menial online task — where you’ve gone to do a quick search and subsequently spent hours on social media. Somehow you found your answer within a news article that referenced a social media post, which you looked at on that platform and now you’re reading a debate about the origins of humanity which is completely unrelated to your original inquiry.
What was meant to be a minute-long search turned into a reality shift of sorts, where you’re immersed in the world of whatever social media channel you’re perusing — taking onboard the insights of others, actively downloading their perspectives and being influenced by them & their energy.
Not only does this shift your focus, but it also gives way to comparison, mindlessness and being influenced by countless others — whether the news, other individuals or companies that are all vying for both your attention and engagement; all of which influence everything from our shopping patterns to our mental health, perceptions and energy.
You’ve likely heard the adage that we’re the average of the people we spend the most time with. Yet, few realise this isn’t simply limited to those you see in your physical reality — but also those you follow online, the content you engage with, media you consume, books you read, podcasts you listen to, shows you watch and the topics you ponder.
Considering such things influence us at any given moment; it pays to be mindful of where we’re investing our attention not only online but in all aspects of our reality. Of course, we don’t need to become neurotic about this because when used with intention tools like social media can benefit us; as long as you view them as that — a tool, something to be used and not to be used by.
Meaning, to maximise such tools we must be intentional with how we use them and stay mindful of the media diet our minds consume. Whereby understanding the importance of where you invest your attention is an important step in itself because only with awareness can we make any lasting changes, allowing us to take stock of how we’re investing our attention and to use boundaries and have standards in how we’re doing so.
When applied to social media the can be as simple (and effective) as implementing digital boundaries. A simple way to do this is to conduct a digital assessment and implement boundaries accordingly —
Assessment —
What social media channels are you using?
Which of the channels do you need (work, growth or relationships)?
Which channels could you delete or deactivate?
What social pages are you following, which are helping or hindering your growth?
Where are my news sources coming from, what is their agenda, do I need to know all of this?
Is the content and information I’m consuming support or distract from the life I want to live?
Action —
Unfollow and mute any person or content that isn’t adding to your life.
Stop watching and listening to media that promotes the idea of victimhood/struggle.
Implement allocated times for social media, and remove unnecessary apps or profiles.
Replace surfing the web with time allocated for learning — shift priorities.
Pick a topic or project to allocate your time to — creative, learning or business, etc.
Be mindful of the way you feel while using social media, set timer limits & use a block list.
If you engage w/ news — focus on local news and insights that directly affect or interest you.
Allocate time for relaxed social use — scrolling entertainment or just scrolling but with time limits.
Essential Perspective Shift —
It’s important to note, being mindful of your where you place your attention doesn’t mean becoming a luddite and avoiding reality. Social media and the internet are immensely useful to expand your awareness, connect with others and grow creative, personal or business endeavours.
However, to mindfully use such tools a perspective shift is essential where you no longer use them as a form of distraction or escapism. Instead, you shift from being a consumer to being an alchemist or producer. Of course, what that looks like for you may be different to how it looks for others but the options are endless, including:
Creating a brand or business — could be simply a creative endeavour.
Learning about topics that intrigue you — self-education via. courses & online learning.
Building skills that could be useful for yourself or the workplace — writing, branding, marketing, etc.
Use for personal development — inspired and learn from creators re: health, wealth, happiness, etc.
In this sense, we mindfully invest our attention in things that help us evolve & develop. Not only can we do this online but in every area of our reality; where we become mindful of how we’ve been investing our attention and ensure we focus on the topics, conversations, beliefs and relationships that actively add to our existence.
As a result, you will likely find yourself minimising and retreating from such things including unnecessary drama, toxic conversations, limiting beliefs and actions, alongside relationships that don’t serve you. You might not intentionally go out of your way to do so. Instead, you’ll simply be more inspired and focused on the things that are adding value.
Reality Curation —
With this newfound awareness and shift in priorities, you will likely have far more time and energy — which can be directed into things that serve you and your development; whether that’s taking courses, researching areas of interest, implementing positive habits, curating valuable relationships or improving in any area; of which a key focus should include your self-development, namely your perception, beliefs, thoughts and energy.
Simply put your thoughts, beliefs and where you invest your energy is what curates and influences your reality. Because where your attention goes, energy flows — as such, when you focus on something you in turn activate thoughts, emotions and beliefs about that subject which is evident in the fact that when you focus on things you appreciate you experience positive thoughts and feelings, making it imperative to live intentionally and invest your attention wisely.
Where focus goes, energy flows — and if you don’t take time to focus on what matters then you’re living a life of someone else’s design. — Tony Robbins.
With countless things vying for our attention and looking to influence us, being intentional with where we invest our attention and energy can make a significant difference to the reality we create and experience. Whereby we outline the life we want to experience and focus on the thoughts, actions and beliefs that produce those outcomes.
Day by day, what you choose, what you think and what you do is who you become. — Heraclitus
Because as in the wise words of Napoleon Hill …. Your dominating focus attracts, through a definite law of nature, by the shortest and most convenient route, their physical counterpart — be careful of what you focus on.
Simply, you become what you consume making it imperative to fuel your mind with a diet that adds to both your growth and happiness. With intentionality in our actions, thoughts and beliefs coupled with mindful awareness of where we invest our attention, we can navigate both our direct reality and modern technology in a way that serves us and our development.
To do so, we must realise that where we invest our attention should be a top priority — as such, we must be mindful of our thoughts, beliefs, perceptions and media usage and utilise these in a way that serves us and our development.
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If you want to invest your attention wisely, consider Metamorphosis — a self-directed guide with key habits selected to help you become your ideal self. Consider, if you continue investing your attention as you have been will you become the person you dream of? If not, let the Metamorphosis guide help you do so.