Chapter 312 - Goals Of The Attention Diet[3] (1/2)

There are a few fronts on which our attention is being assaulted. First off, there's just a massive surplus of stuff to pay attention to. And the more crap there is to pay attention to, the more difficult it is to choose what to focus on—not to mention stay focused on it!

So, the first and most important goal of an attention diet should be to consciously limit the number of distractions we're exposed to. Just as the first step of a nutritional diet is to consume less food, the first step of an attention diet is to consume less information.

That then raises the question, ”What stuff is worth paying attention to?” What should we give a f.u.c.k about? The same way the proliferation of junk food f.u.c.k.i.e.d up our bodies in the 20th century, the exponential growth in junk information has f.u.c.k.i.e.d up the emotions and minds in the 21st century. Therefore, the second goal of the Attention Diet is to find highly nutritious sources of information and relationsh.i.p.s and then build our lives around them.

Basically, the name of the game is quality over quantity. Because in a world with infinite information and opportunity, you don't grow by knowing or doing more, you grow by the ability to correctly focus on less.

The method of the Attention Diet is similar to a nutritional diet—by cutting out whole categories of consumption for a period of time, your body (or mind) adjusts, becomes healthier, and then, ideally, after enough time you no longer crave your old guilty pleasures.

(It's probably worth noting that nutritional diets are famous for failing spectacularly. My limited personal experiences have shown that Attention Diets are pretty effective. But, f.u.c.k it, this is uncharted territory, so let's see how it goes.)

There are three steps to the Attention Diet:

Correctly identify nutritious information and relationsh.i.p.s.

Cut out the junk information and relationsh.i.p.s.

Cultivate habits of deeper focus and a longer attention span.

So, how do we define ”junk” information and relationsh.i.p.s and ”nutritious” information and relationsh.i.p.s?

Well, without getting all philosophical, let's keep it simple.