Focus: Post #3--Impoverishment of Attention

Impoverishment of Attention Video games and endless electronic chatter; constant news, especially negative; information on demand by Google; and so much more are taking our kids and us down a path of distraction and lack of focus. We jump from emails to blogs to texts and get swallowed up in a sea of distraction. Doubly disturbing is that 8 percent of American online gamers meet the psychiatric definition of addiction. Nobel-winning economist Herbert Simon wrote: “…a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”

Focus: Post #2--Types of Attention

Three Kinds of Attention for Leaders
1. Inner focus attunes us to our emotions, intuitions, and decisions—a form of self-awareness and self-regulation. 2. Other focus connects us with others through forms of empathy—Cognitive Empathy (I see how you view the world); Emotional Empathy (I have a sense of how you feel); Empathic Concern (I want to do something to soothe or help you). “Outer focus keeps our eye on the larger environment we live in—a systems approach works well to keep us safe and sound. A leader tuned out of his internal world will be rudderless; one blind to the world of others will be clueless; those indifferent to the larger systems in which they operate will be blindsided.”

Focus: Post #1--Overview

Overview

Attention is the muscle of the mind, and distraction is like the infectious “common cold.” Your mind gets strengthened by attention and weakened by mind wandering. Goleman calls our attention to three types of focus: Inner Focus—self-awareness and control; Other Focus—empathy for others and relationship building; and Outer Focus on the external environment —systems thinking. Two brains within us control our thoughts—bottom brain (basal, instinctual, ancient) and top brain (slower, cognitive, wandering). Using mindfulness and switching brains can help us focus, solve important problems, and attain excellence.

Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence (HarperCollins, 2013) by Daniel Goleman.