A Flashlight, A Traffic Light & A Juggler (AKA Your Attention)
"In a world of abundance, the only scarcity is human attention".
-Herbert Simon, Noble prize-winning social scientist
Your attention is valuable. In our modern world, there are so many factors competing for it… busy schedules, unlimited access to technology, even your own mind!
Understanding the different aspects of your attention allows you to have an awareness and make more conscious choices of how to most effectively use this valuable resource.
Think about attention being broken up into 3 main subsystems.
The Orienting System: This is like a flashlight. It’s your focused attention. It has a narrow focus, and whatever your attention is focused on in that time is “illuminated”
The Alerting System: This is like a yellow traffic light and encourages your attention to be more broad. You’re on alert and keeping your attention at the ready. With constant notifications from technology, your alerting system can be… always on alert!
The Executive System: This is like a juggler. It is overseeing that your goals and actions are in alignment. This is also a more broad use of your attention. You’re taking in the whole picture, reflecting and adjusting as needed.
Just as you exercise your body to “whole” fitness health with cardio, strength and stretching. Meditation and mindfulness are great tools for strengthening these attention systems.
A focused formal practice like breath awareness, body sensations or even a candle meditation, trains your mind to be able to have sustained attention on a narrow topic as needed for the Orienting System and Executive System. Informally, this is also strengthened when you mono-task during the day and mindfully keep your attention on one task/experience at a time.
The self-awareness that you gain through meditation and mindfulness support all three systems. Instead of being on autopilot, you are able to identify each time your attention has wandered, redirecting your mind back to the present moment, breath, sensation each time a distraction arises. You also gain awareness regarding your thinking patterns such as negative self-talk and times you ruminate in the past or worry about the future. This knowledge empowers you to identify when your Alerting System is activated and whether the threat is real or perceived. The reflection space that you create during meditation also helps you to identify your goals and values and provides the opportunity for you to check in with yourself and whether or not you are living in alignment.
Getting started is usually the hardest step. My suggestion is to start small. Put a reminder somewhere you look every day; at your desk, in your fridge, on your mirror or phone. Each time you see it, take one mindful breath. Put it in three places, and before you know it, you’re taking three mindful breaths! Informally, connect mindfulness to one action you take daily; brushing your teeth, pouring a glass of water, coffee, even wine! Engage your senses and become present for that action.
Build up to a minute, then 3, then 5, and eventually 10, if that feels good. Research shows many benefits can be achieved in this small amount of time. The important part is consistency and awareness.
If you’re having trouble getting started, reach out and we can set up a 15 minute call or a session to come up with some realistic strategies for your lifestyle and goals.
* If you have the opportunity to listen to Amishi Jha, she is a neuroscientist who explains the brain and its systems in very approachable ways. The metaphors above came from her presentation, “How Mindfulness Meditation Trains the Brain”.