Our brains process 100,000,000,000 (billion) bits of information per second, yet we are only aware of 2,000 bits/s. How do our brains decide what information to become aware of and what information to ignore? To answer this question, imagine yourself sitting in a dark movie theater:
The screen is a few rows in front of you, but you cannot see anything yet. You have a small flashlight. You turn the flashlight on and illuminate a very small circular portion of the screen. You can see what’s on this part of the screen very well, but the rest is out of focus.
I think you get where I am going with this. The flashlight is an analogy for your attention, and the screen an analogy for the 100 billion bits of information that enter our brains every second. Using this analogy you can see that what we focus our attention on, we become aware of and the rest, we ignore. This brings up an important question: Where should we focus the flashlight if we want to see the full picture or at least the important parts of the picture?
THE MINDFULNESS FLASHLIGHT
Mindfulness is an ability that involves focusing our attention on specific aspects of the present moment. This enables us to illuminate and more clearly observe these in-focus aspects. I’m sure you’ve all heard or read about the health benefits of mindfulness, so here I want to focus your attention on where to shine the mindfulness flashlight. Consider this story:
Sam, who always seems to know it all, was going to the store one bright morning when he sees his aloof neighbor, Phil, crawling around on the front lawn looking for something. Sam writes it off as common behavior for Phil and goes to the store. When Sam returns hours later, Phil is still on the front lawn. Sam has to ask, “Phil what are you looking for?” And Phil tells him, “I lost my keys. Can you help me find them?” So Sam gets on his hands and knees and looks with Phil for almost an hour. When they’ve combed the entire front lawn, Sam asks, “Where’d you lose your keys? Do you remember the last place you saw them?” Phil simply responds, “Inside my house.” Sam angrily comes back, “Then why are we looking outside?” And with a calm certainty, Phil explains, “It’s lighter and much easier to see outside.”
Mind full of Insight
To understand how we’re feeling in the moment or why we’re feeling that way, we often focus our attention on other people or events in our environment. We focus on the world outside of ourselves because it’s easier to observe than it is to observe the world inside ourselves. Pointing our mindfulness flashlights inwards is certainly harder but has payoffs. Gaining insight on our invironments, full of our own reactions, thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and intentions, gives us the power to change them in any moment. This skill is critical for optimally performing in sports, work, or in the classroom. Turning our attention inwards, especially in times of adversity, enables us to manage stress and use failure as fertilizer.
What is your mind full of right now? Pay attention to it. You can choose which 2,000 bits of information per second to focus on.
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