Let’s start with a simple concept: if you’re reading this, you’re conscious, and if you’re conscious, you’re paying attention to SOMETHING.

Wherever your attention is, that’s making up a large part of what you’re experiencing. If, while you’re reading this, a fire alarm goes off, your attention will be yanked away from the words in front of your eyes to the sound of the alarm and thoughts about what needs to be done next.

As a result of your attention moving, your experience will change. One minute you’re peacefully reading a blog post, the next you’re planning your exit from the building. But let’s say you decide to quickly finish reading this blog post before heading to the fire exit. Now, your attention is going to be divided. You’ll still see the words, and you’ll also hear the alarm, and you’ll also be planning your exit. Your attention will be partly on each of them. Perfectly normal.

So what SHOULD you pay attention to? That depends on what you’re doing and what your goals are. If you’re playing a sport, you could pay attention to the strengths and weaknesses of your opponent or to your body’s changing energy level. If you’re meeting with an important client, you could pay attention to their facial expressions, their tone of voice, or their choice of words. If you’re taking a shower, you could pay attention to the sensations of the water or the smells of the products you’re using.

The point I’m making is that what matters is that you be aware of what you’re paying attention to. And that you make sure that it’s where you’re choosing to place your attention.

You can learn to gain control over your attention through deliberate practice. That’s the aim of this blog: to suggest various ways that you can practice working with your attention, to gain control and eventually mastery over it.

I’ll be suggesting many different things that you can pay attention to, including self-talk, pposture, breath, the body, other people, sights, sounds and sensations. They’re all good to learn to pay attention to. Some will work well for. Other won’t work at all. No problem. Keep the ones that work.

What you pay attention to matters in two very important ways. Firstly, it makes actual changes in the physiology of your brain, making certain pathways stronger and faster. Secondly, it directly affects the quality of your experience, which is to say, your life. Not a trivial matter.

Through deliberate practice, you’ll start to gain a lot more control over your attention. The benefits of that, if you stick with it, will be a real increase in your well-being, lower stress, better listening and communication, better relationships and better health. If that sounds like something you’d like, then please join me on this adventure!