In 2020, attention is power.

I know this because so many people are competing for it.

Youtube ads.

Instagram Ads.

Twitter.

Everyone wants YOUR attention.

How do you decide where your attention goes?

Thread 1/21

Perhaps an even better question is,

Do you even choose where to put your attention?

Or are you operating on default?

Do you let your instincts guide your thinking?

BOOBS! Attention.

FIGHT! Attention.

ALL CAPS! Attention.

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Your default setting tells you to pay attention to

Boobs,

Fights,

ALL CAPS.

And more concerning,

the negative component in a situation.

We're designed to focus on what goes wrong.

For example:

3/

You sit down with your boss for your annual performance review.

Your boss tells you about the 9 things you are amazing at.

And the 1 thing you “need to improve”.

What do you walk away from that meeting remembering?

4/

Commonly referred to Type 1 and Type 2 errors.

Type 1: You believe something is there, when it is not.

Type 2: You don’t believe something is there, when it is.

We’ve evolved making type 1 errors more often than type 2.

Why?

5/

Think of yourself as a caveman walking around looking for berries.

You hear a rustle in the bushes.

Is there a sabertooth tiger in the bushes?

A type 1 mistake here, means you live.

A type 2 mistake here, means your dead.

A modern example:

6/

We’ve survived by making Type 1 errors.

But in 2020,

There are no saber tooth tigers hiding in the bushes.

Only the ones we imagine.

And if we’re not paying attention

to what we’re paying attention to,

You’ll imagine them everywhere.

7/

So how do we control/get better at paying attention?

Like most things in life,

You practice.

In theory,

School is supposed to teach you this.

We who work in education call it “critical thinking”.

Theory is often disconnected from practice though.

8/

Side Note: The late David Foster Wallace

Has an absolutely BEAUTIFUL speech about this subject.

I watch this <10 minute version once a month.
( https://bit.ly/3hs6GmL )

The whole version is nice to listen to as well,

but it’s 20+ minutes ( https://bit.ly/2D2W3HU )

9/

The question is now,

How do I practice paying attention?

You meditate of course!

Now before you dismiss the rest of my thread as

“fu-fu-ra-ra bullshit”,

Understand a few things about meditation.

10/

There are many forms of meditation.

The main purpose of many,

(in my, not-so-expert opinion)

Is to practice and notice where you place your attention.

This takes many forms.

11/

Ever see @TheFadedApe swing his club?

He MUST choose to pay attention to the club.

Otherwise?

Lights out.

Ever go for a long jog?

Sure, you start by thinking about everything that’s bothering you,

(Remember type 1 errors?)

12/ https://twitter.com/TheFadedApe/status/1285292199668641792?s=20

But as you run,

Your inner-voice quiets down,

and you start to focus on running.

When you try meditating,

In its simplest form,

You sit comfortably for a predetermined amount of time

and pay attention to your breathing.

13/

I’ve used @Headspace since 2015.

Not only is it a nice guided meditation,

they have a “streaks” feature.

You meditate a few days,

And then you don’t want to break your streak.

So you keep doing it.

(Remember Seinfeld?)

https://twitter.com/MarqJacobs/status/1278797038570754048?s=20

14/

There’s no “light bulb”, or “Aha!” moment,

But over time,

You start to realize,

what you’re paying attention to.

You don’t operate on default anymore.

You pay attention,

To your attention.

15/

My one issue with @headspace is that,

they encourage mouth breathing.

I do not.

Always breathe through your nose.

If you have questions about why,

Watch @WIL’s video about it ( https://bit.ly/2CxTE8z )

Or

this more recent JRE Clip ( https://bit.ly/3jCfxE4 )

16/

And if you’re not sold on meditation,

Performance Enhancing Drugs do exist.

MICROdosing psilocybin mushrooms,

is an interesting experience.

@FitFounder has an awesome thread on his experience doing it.

https://twitter.com/FitFounder/status/1279777721304973318?s=20

17/

I do it when I have access to them.

Oakland, Santa Cruz, and Denver in the US have decriminalized psilocybin.

And (different thread I know) “shrooms” will have a similar moment to marijuana,

Where everyone realizes

“These things aren’t actually that bad.”

18/

I’m sure there will be some disagreement about psilocybin

Depending on where you’re from.

Remember, you’re NOT eating a handful of mushrooms

when you MICRO-dose.

I’m talking a pinky toenail’s size amount of dried mushrooms in powder form.

19/

You’re not supposed to feel high.

If you did it right, you won’t notice you took it till the end of the day.

You’ll be staring at a tree, thinking about what a wonderful day you had.

And then you’ll remember.

"I microdosed today!"

Try it and you’ll understand.

20/

I say all this to say,

Pay attention to your attention.

Sometimes, you make Type 1 errors.

Sometimes, you need to put your phone down and go outside.

Sometimes, you’re not hungry, you’re bored.

Pay attention.

END/

THANK YOU for reading this far.

If you found this interesting/useful/funny,

do me a solid and RT that top tweet!