We tend to place so much emphasis on our circumstances-in our external world-as a measure of happiness. This phenomenon of ‘what you think, you become’ has been explained by ancient philosophers and science researchers alike, and it contradicts what the average human thinks. Life is the sum total of what you focus on.” -Winifred Gallagher “Who you are, what you think, feel, and do, what you love - is the sum of what you focus on. But if you choose to focus on the bigger and more important things (family and friends or meaningful work) and the little things (the pleasure of an evening martini), your life becomes more pleasant because your thoughts are creating a more enjoyable experience for you. If you focus on cancer diagnosis and allow your attention to wander across all the worries, fears, and uncertainties that come with it, your life will be consumed with darkness and unhappiness. In other words, what you focus on expands. The management of your attention is the condition of improving every aspect of your experience in life.
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“Like fingers pointing to the moon, other diverse disciplines from anthropology to education, behavioural economics to family counselling, similarly suggest that the skillful management of attention is the sine qua non of the good life and the key to improving virtually every aspect of your experience.” After five years of behavioral science research and experimentation, this was her conclusion: So Gallagher set out to better understand the role that attention (what we choose to focus on and what we choose to ignore) plays in shaping the quality of our life. This newly-drawn perspective on life painted a brighter outlook on her life.
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She would consciously reclaim her attention, relentlessly redirecting it toward things that mattered most to her in life: “big ones like family and friends, spiritual life and work, and smaller ones like movies, walks, and a 6:30 pm martini.” Instead, she launched herself into a more challenging state of mind-she committed herself to focus less on the worry and more on the good. Her cancer treatments were draining and exhausting, but she refused to concede her attention to what the disease had taken away from her. She was diagnosed with cancer but while it was an unexpected shock, it also led her onto an unexpected journey of purposeful work.Īs she explains in her book, Rapt, she walked away from the hospital after a cancer diagnosis realizing something powerful: “This disease wanted to monopolize my attention, but as much as possible, I would focus on my life instead.” Your life can be transformed in an instant.