You instinctively know your time is valuable. It’s a resource that you only have so much of. And once you spend it, it’s gone. But there’s something even more valuable than your time.

What is it? It’s your attention.

I’m distinguishing between time and attention because it’s possible to think you’re spending “time” with those you love, or on a project at work, but to not actually give them your full attention.

The Value of Your Attention

Like your time, your attention is finite — giving it to one thing involves not giving it to something else. And everyone wants your attention.

Advertisers want your attention, because they know getting your attention will affect your actions. And they’ll spend millions of dollars on ad campaigns to try to grab it. Various websites and apps want your attention, and will use all kinds of notifications to get you to stay a little longer. People want your attention for all kinds of reasons, and will behave accordingly.

And since so many things are vying for your attention, the important realization is that** what you give**** your attention to will affect your experience of life. **

  • Get caught up in paying too much attention to everyone else’s life on social media, and it can affect how you view your own life.
  • Pay too much attention to what companies are telling you you “need,” and end up buying lots of products that weren’t necessary.
  • Make news outlets, and the sensational headlines they employ, the center of your attention, and risk increasing your sense of fear and pessimism about the world.
  • Stay busy with whatever pops up, and lose opportunities to invest in the work and relationships that matter most.

It works the other way too.

  • Give your attention to good and virtuous people and causes and ideas, and the way you view the world will be shifted as well.
  • Feed on nourishing books and conversations, and watch yourself grow in the process.
  • Give your attention more fully to those closest to you, and watch those relationships flourish.

Paying Attention …To What We Give Our Attention

What we choose to give our attention matters. This ongoing decision will eventually affect our thoughts, relationships, and actions, which means it would be wise to be careful about what we choose.

In other words, it would do us well to pay attention to what we give our attention.