Observations on attention

We are usually not aware of attention, for example, of the 3 types of attention: one personal or internal, one external to events and our environment, and one towards those around us. However, the way we use our attention, a limited resource, determines what we see. Now, in general, regardless of the type, attention is something in our minds that allows us to focus on a subject, object, person in a window of time and at the same time helps us to inhibit distractions in the environment, such as car noises, people talking, or other similar events.

Our mind is so powerful that it is capable of activating a mechanism to even inhibit our emotions. For this reason, there are people who, in mourning, prefer to continue working, since their brain system helps them inhibit the pain that the loss is causing them. And yet, attention depends on our emotional stability. So, those people with a "better" emotional state are able to concentrate more easily, while a sad person tends to get distracted and think about what afflicts them, preventing them from focusing.

When we concentrate on something, we create something similar to synchronization with the object studied, which allows for almost immediate brain stimulation with the observed events. That is, if we are concentrating on watching a football match, for example, it is very easy to notice how more concentrated people will react more quickly and deeply to the possibility of a goal. Some will even be able to anticipate the event after having watched many matches and noticing patterns. In this way, the brain manages to learn more quickly, since if the person is highly concentrated, what they observe will be related to the individual's previous knowledge and will create connections that will make it easier for them to remember what they are seeing in the future. Those who are unfocused will hardly remember what they are seeing without focused attention.

There is one event that all of us who read share, that is, almost everyone, and that includes news or messages from our friends. When we read, if we are not focused on what we are reading, we can end up reading for several paragraphs until we realize that we have not captured anything from the last lines. This happens because, while we are doing the act of reading, our attention is focused on something completely different.

While there are studies showing that concentration levels today are lower than in the past, it doesn't mean that we have lost the ability as a generation. What happens is that, with the advancement of mobile technology in particular, we have become more eager to fluctuate our attention from one place to another, weakening the "muscles" of attention. This causes that when we want to look at something carefully, be it a book, a series, or anything else, if we have a lot of things on our mind, such as worries or particularly negative emotions, we are more likely to jump our attention from one side to the other more continuously.

To prove that attention is related to the emotional rather than the rational, studies also show us that people who have a passion for work, for example, artists or writers, tend to have longer periods of concentration, since what they do is done with more pleasure. In the same way, everyone will know someone who has a huge motivation to do something, be it video games, a business or anything else. These people tend to have higher concentration, since their levels of emotion and motivation are elevated, also increasing concentration.

So, while attention and focus on what we have to do may seem fluctuating, there are ways to approach it in order to be more focused. For example, importance or a sense of urgency, which I'm sure everyone has felt, makes doing something easier. Not on a technical level, but in terms of the allocation of concentration attached to the task at hand. Some people who procrastinate on important tasks know this better than anyone. At the same time, there are others who see the opposite. When they have things to do, doing them as soon as possible gives them peace of mind, allowing them to have more free time later without having the worries inherent in a task that needs to be done.