Take Back Your Attention Span

People often complain something is too long to read, too long to watch, or didn’t grip them immediately.

we have become accustomed to flipping programs when it didn’t work; seeking immediacy instead of fulfillment and skill building.

this is a sad state for a mind to be in, and totally within our power to work on.

The mind is trained much like the body- what we practice is what we build. if we practice flipping, mindless scrolling, and not giving attention to one thing at a time, we develop an irritable state of mind, a short attention span, and seeking outward endlessly for more and for better.

if we practice giving our attention to one thing at a time fully, if we practice the discipline of reading to comprehend instead of reading to charge ourselves with an emotion or an immediate response - if we practice our hobbies for a deep satisfaction instead of entertainment and filling a void-

we develop deeper fulfillment. Instead of cheap and fleeting happiness we have depth and value in our life.

Getting good at riding requires the discipline of repetition with full attention. We have to work on the same skills repeatedly until they are honed, we have to learn to give attention deeper and deeper into the same small details. It is very difficult to get good at riding, let alone create the possibility for a quiet and happy horse in our presence, if we struggle to pay attention, to string a series of aids together cohesively, if we struggle to see what they see, and if we struggle to stay on task.

This photo shows baskets I made -

on the right my very first, lumpy and sloppy basket. on the far left my most recent one. Sitting for hours and paying attention to nothing but one stitch and then the next has been very valuable to me- it has expanded my attention span, given me confidence in being able to work through frustration, and enjoyment in the process instead of the result.

Making a basket is not much different from riding a horse: the same stitch, done well, over and over, produces the result.

If the first stitch doesn't work out, and I lose interest, or move on to six different methods, I will never create the basket.

I keep my lumpy basket up next to the newest one to remind myself that anything improves with practice: including attention spans