{"id":54884,"date":"2023-11-13T11:59:32","date_gmt":"2023-11-13T17:59:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/?p=54884"},"modified":"2023-11-13T11:59:32","modified_gmt":"2023-11-13T17:59:32","slug":"the-power-of-attention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Attention"},"content":{"rendered":"

Too often, \u201cgratitude\u201d is one of those \u201cshould\u201d disciplines\u2014right alongside flossing your teeth and changing the oil in your car. We know it\u2019s good for us<\/a>, but we avoid it, except for (perhaps) an obligatory annual reflection over family dinner. It seems trite, underwhelming: like the \u201cone more thing\u201d our life doesn\u2019t need.<\/p>\n

But what if gratitude is actually the pathway to the peace and contentment we spend time and money trying to manufacture? What if it could cultivate resilience<\/a> and even rewire your brain<\/a>? What those two minutes of gratitude could refine your character and improve your experience of the life you\u2019re living right now?<\/p>\n

Gratitude works because it trains our attention. It\u2019s a habit of mind. What you pay attention to changes what you want, how you feel, and what you believe. Gratitude disciplines you to pay attention to the good stuff all around you. It\u2019s a habit that alters the way you experience the past, present, and future.<\/p>\n

Build a Memory Treasure Trove<\/h2>\n

What happened last week?<\/p>\n

You probably don\u2019t have any trouble recalling the biting comment from your boss or the anxiety of feeling out of place at that social event. But do you remember the laughter with a colleague over lunch, the windows-down drive home in perfect fall weather, or the unexpected phone call from a friend that boosted your spirits after a long day?<\/p>\n

Capturing gratitude ensures you remember the good <\/em>stuff\u2014the stuff you want to remember. You begin to build a treasure trove of memories that make you smile, not unlike your camera roll.<\/p>\n

Imagine your mind as a jar. Every time you ruminate on the stuff that makes you sad, ashamed, or anxious, you add small dark pebbles. When you capture beautiful moments, you add bright marbles. You might find it difficult to just stop <\/em>fixating on painful moments, but you can begin to bring balance by filling your mind with bright moments. With enough practice, you can spend more time remembering the bright moments than the dark moments. What could that make possible?<\/p>\n

And as you change the way you remember the past, you change the way you experience the present.<\/p>\n

Delight in Small, Present Joys<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s vital to envision and move toward a future you love. But it is also essential to receive the good of the reality in which you are, in fact, presently living. Living in the past or living for the future can both rob you of the joy of the present.<\/p>\n

When you start a gratitude habit at the end of each day<\/a>, you\u2019ll naturally start looking for things you might later write throughout the day. Soon, you start to notice the good things as they\u2019re happening. <\/em>Instead of experiencing gratitude only in retrospect, you experience it in the present.<\/p>\n

You notice the children\u2019s laughter, the pattern of shadow and light created by sun shining through leaves, the song of the birds after your workout, and how refreshing you find the company of your friends. You start to savor these moments. You let them penetrate the day\u2019s monotony and fill your soul. It\u2019s not that these moments didn\u2019t exist before. You just weren\u2019t paying attention. Not like this.<\/p>\n

Every season is a mixed bag. That means an idyllic, perfect set of circumstances is, well, improbable. But it also means that even the worst seasons contain good\u2014for those with eyes to see it enjoy it. Gratitude gives us eyes to see.<\/p>\n

Develop Future Hopefulness<\/h2>\n

Abundance mindset<\/a> opens worlds of possibility. We imagine more. We risk more. We try more. And as a result, we accomplish more. We contribute more. We grow more.<\/p>\n

But an abundance mindset requires a very valuable resource: hope.<\/p>\n

Hope isn\u2019t blind optimism. It would be insincere (and therefore mostly powerless) if it were. Hope is the anticipation of goodness in the time to come even amidst challenges. It\u2019s believing that even in inevitable suffering, life can be meaningful, even beautiful.<\/p>\n

How do you cultivate hope? How can you know goodness will come? Because you\u2019ve witnessed goodness every day. You\u2019ve named it. Bit by bit, you have built the case to your tired, anxious heart that the world is full of light. It\u2019s no hollow, self-deceptive mantra. It\u2019s a reality you can argue with your list of grateful moments.<\/p>\n

And when you can look forward to the future with hope, with a mindset of abundance, you can give more generously, love more freely, and live more selflessly.<\/p>\n

All of that from a short grateful list each day? All that in more. Like most good things, it doesn\u2019t happen overnight. It\u2019s like a river carving a canyon: day by day, bit by bit. Change takes time. But it will come. Will you dare to try it?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Too often, \u201cgratitude\u201d is one of those \u201cshould\u201d disciplines\u2014right alongside flossing your teeth and changing the oil in your car. We know it\u2019s good for us, but we avoid it, except for (perhaps) an obligatory annual reflection over family dinner. It seems trite, underwhelming: like the \u201cone more thing\u201d our life doesn\u2019t need. But what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":54886,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1748],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Power of Attention | Full Focus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Power of Attention | Full Focus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Too often, \u201cgratitude\u201d is one of those \u201cshould\u201d disciplines\u2014right alongside flossing your teeth and changing the oil in your car. We know it\u2019s good for us, but we avoid it, except for (perhaps) an obligatory annual reflection over family dinner. It seems trite, underwhelming: like the \u201cone more thing\u201d our life doesn\u2019t need. But what […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Full Focus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/michaelhyatt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-13T17:59:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/FF-Blog_11-13.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1281\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hannah Williamson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hannah Williamson\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/person\/ce0504b986b2a552e31782c1605dc1cf\"},\"headline\":\"The Power of Attention\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-13T17:59:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-13T17:59:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/\"},\"wordCount\":820,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Habits\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/\",\"name\":\"The Power of Attention | Full Focus\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-13T17:59:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-13T17:59:32+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Power of Attention\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/\",\"name\":\"Full Focus\",\"description\":\"Win at Work and Succeed at Life\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Full Focus\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Full-Focus-Logo-Tan.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Full-Focus-Logo-Tan.svg\",\"width\":805,\"height\":178,\"caption\":\"Full Focus\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/michaelhyatt\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/fullfocusplanner\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/person\/ce0504b986b2a552e31782c1605dc1cf\",\"name\":\"Hannah Williamson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5546576f1d2d1986480f5c2be9671fc4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5546576f1d2d1986480f5c2be9671fc4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Hannah Williamson\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/author\/hannahwilliamson\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Power of Attention | Full Focus","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Power of Attention | Full Focus","og_description":"Too often, \u201cgratitude\u201d is one of those \u201cshould\u201d disciplines\u2014right alongside flossing your teeth and changing the oil in your car. We know it\u2019s good for us, but we avoid it, except for (perhaps) an obligatory annual reflection over family dinner. It seems trite, underwhelming: like the \u201cone more thing\u201d our life doesn\u2019t need. But what […]","og_url":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/","og_site_name":"Full Focus","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/michaelhyatt","article_published_time":"2023-11-13T17:59:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1281,"url":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/FF-Blog_11-13.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Hannah Williamson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/"},"author":{"name":"Hannah Williamson","@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/person\/ce0504b986b2a552e31782c1605dc1cf"},"headline":"The Power of Attention","datePublished":"2023-11-13T17:59:32+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-13T17:59:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/"},"wordCount":820,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Habits"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/","url":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/","name":"The Power of Attention | Full Focus","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-11-13T17:59:32+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-13T17:59:32+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/the-power-of-attention\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Power of Attention"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/","name":"Full Focus","description":"Win at Work and Succeed at Life","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#organization","name":"Full Focus","url":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Full-Focus-Logo-Tan.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Full-Focus-Logo-Tan.svg","width":805,"height":178,"caption":"Full Focus"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/facebook.com\/michaelhyatt","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/fullfocusplanner\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/person\/ce0504b986b2a552e31782c1605dc1cf","name":"Hannah Williamson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5546576f1d2d1986480f5c2be9671fc4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5546576f1d2d1986480f5c2be9671fc4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Hannah Williamson"},"url":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/author\/hannahwilliamson\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54884"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}