The Power of Attention

You can't make a good call on ground you haven't really looked at. And a lot stays hidden from you. Whatever got you here, you're still human. Your read on things is partial, and it's slanted.

Most of us know this in the abstract. We can see it plainly in someone else. When it's our own situation, though, and especially when we need clarity most, we don't believe we might be missing something. We rarely meet a problem with fresh eyes. Our assumptions get there first and stand between us and what's in front of us.

That's how the blindside happens. The marriage that was fine enough comes apart when one person meets someone who wants what was ignored for years. The project that looked on track goes off the rails because nobody looked up from their own lane. We thought we knew what was what, so we stopped paying attention.

Attention isn't only aimed outward. It turns in. Open it up, and you notice the jaw that clenched when something went unsaid. You notice the tone of voice that doesn't match the words. You notice the thing you've been steering around.

That's the part that gets skipped because it isn't always comfortable. Really looking can make you question a conviction you were sure of, or walk back a plan you'd already committed to, when everything in you wants to push ahead. It's easier to stay busy. The clenched jaw is information, and information you didn't ask for is the kind we tune out.

You will lose your attention. Everyone does. The mind wanders off like a kite with the string let go. The practice isn't never to wander. It's noticing you've wandered and turning back to the thing in front of you, even the part you've been steering around.