Focusing with purpose: how to choose what matters most

Our brains are constantly bombarded with information that must be filtered so we can focus on what’s most important. When you’re out for a walk or sitting at your desk, for example, how many details do you never pay any attention to? Trying to process it all would be overwhelming and unhelpful since most is irrelevant to what you need to do.

It makes sense then that we have to select our attention. What’s interesting though is the lens that we apply to the information since there is an important difference between sensation and perception. Sensation is the raw data that your senses pick up; perception is the meaning you make of it based on your beliefs, expectations, goals and personality. It’s your perception that ultimately shapes how you experience the world.

For example, if I am wracked with nerves presenting to a team of senior leaders, worrying about how I’m coming across and how they’re going to judge me, I will be hypervigilant to any perceived cues they transmit. I am likely to perceive any neutral facial expressions as negative – an indication that they’re bored, unconvinced or think I’m a total loser. My attention will shift to confirm my beliefs and expectations, no matter how unhelpful or dysfunctional they may be.

Choosing your response

Some people’s natural pre-disposition will lead them to be more vigilant, to focus on the risks, challenges and potential problems in a situation whilst others will have a more optimistic, glass-half-full view of life (based on the personality trait called emotional stability). Most individuals will be somewhere in the middle of these two extremes.

But, whatever your natural tendency, you can learn to consciously expand your attention to focus on what’s helpful and move you towards what’s important to you, whilst recognising the challenges and constraints of a situation.

The first step is being aware of how you’re interpreting a situation rather than accepting your automatic thoughts as simple truths. Notice the stories you are telling yourself or the thoughts that arise and recognise that they are just that – thoughts. Taking more of this ‘observer’ view gives us space to choose how to respond. We’re not trying to get rid of the thoughts, which tends to intensify them, but to change our relationship with them.

Of course, observing thoughts in this way is not always easy, particularly in stressful situations where the stakes are high or when the underlying belief or expectation is very ingrained. So practising noticing where your attention goes in calmer moments will help when you face more challenging situations.

When you become more aware of your thoughts you can ask yourself what is another way to look at this situation? What are the benefits? What could it teach me? What thoughts and feelings will help move me closer to where I want to get to and what’s important to me?

When in doubt, try to isolate the facts of the situation. Strip them of the emotional and narrative qualities to help you take a more objective perspective.

The stoic philosophers said it’s not the events themselves that cause us unhappiness, but the views we take of them. The benefits of noticing and then choosing what you pay attention to can be significant, in terms of reducing the negative impacts of stress, protecting self-esteem, increasing productivity and enhancing relationships. As the quote by US philosopher and psychologist William James reminds us: “my experience is what I agree to attend to”

If you’d like to dig deeper into selective attention and focus, try this episode of The Thinking Mind Podcast.