I recently watched Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s TED Talk on how craving attention is detrimental to creativity while focussing attention is fundamental to it. Oof—it spoke to me. So much so that it inspired my intention for this month: focussed attention.
Screens, scrolling, watching, consuming, numbing… sometimes I plunge into these traps practically from the moment I wake up. These habits have eroded my attention span. Fortunately, the damage is reversible. It takes practice and discipline to unplug from a world full of so much stimulus… to set the boundaries needed to ensure consumption doesn’t compromise quality of life… to really, fully live rather than pass numbly from day to day.
And for all it takes, it gives back so much more.
As we enter the month ahead, can you take stock of where your attention has drifted? Where might you reset it to better serve you? I offer these prompts as a starting point to incorporate into your next journaling, meditation or reflection exercise. All of this outside noise—e.g. the very app you’re reading these words on right now—are designed to keep our attention. Can you counter that by regularly checking in with how your outward actions align with who you are at your core and what you hope to achieve or contribute in this life?
I would love to hear what your intention for March is and any insights that came up for you in this exercise. You can share them with me in the comments below or by connecting with me on Instagram (@melaniealbwrite).