Most of the posts I write are written assuming that parents, caregivers and teachers are reading on the other end. This one, I wrote it with kids in mind.

What is attention?

Whenever I ask, “So…what is attention?” most kids (and many grown ups) aren’t sure exactly what I mean. And, it’s no surprise. Attention is complicated.

Often, kids ask, “Do you mean having other people notice you?” We all know people who love the spotlight.

Or, they may assume I mean what teachers try to get them to do…“pay attention” “eyes on me” or “focus and finish your work.” Kids know this kind of attention all too well.

But when we take the conversation a little deeper, I’m always struck by how thoughtful kids get about what attention really means to us as humans.

A bigger, better definition

When I talk about attention, I am referring to something bigger, better even, than the attention we get from someone else, or the attention we’re told to give to something.

I’m referring to the kind of attention that we choose to give—and it’s powerful stuff.

We can think of this kind of attention as our ability to notice the world, direct our focus, and hold or shift that focus toward the people and things we care most about.

Why do we have attention in the first place?

Humans evolved to have attention because there has always been too much information around us to take in and process at once (even for hundreds of thousands of years before we had smartphones!).

In order to survive and flourish as a species, we humans developed the ability to focus on what matters, shift focus when the environment changes, and ignore distractions.

That set of abilities is at the heart of attention. And, when you think about it, attention—what we focus on and how we either keep or shift our focus—bascially determines what we think about, feel, and choose to do.

We humans use our attention in amazing ways. We can go deep into things we really care about. We can point our focus into the past to remember. We can look ahead to plan for the future and weigh our options as we make complex decisions. We can also build strong relationships, and think and feel in elaborate, sophisticated ways—all thanks to attention.

Paying attention to your attention

The more we are aware of and in control of our attention, the more we can thrive.

When we focus on things that fill our bucket, we benefit. When we waste attention on things that don’t matter, we miss out. More than ever, we’ve got to get really good at understanding and taking control of how and where we give our attention.

You in?

Let’s keep going. Read more about how your attention works (also written with kids in mind).