Whoever has
our attention can influence our thinking. And whoever influences our thinking
will affect our choices. Therefore, if we really want to make free choices, we
need to guard our attention much more carefully. That we do not, affects not
just our choices, but our very ability to distinguish between what is real and
what is not.
Philosopher
and psychologist William James wrote, “My experience is what I agree to attend
to. Only those items which I notice shape my mind.” In a world where commercial
interests are in a Darwinian struggle to grab as much of our attention as
possible, the bright, shiny objects they use to get us to notice them are at
best, distractions, and at worst, manipulations that serve them by clouding our
ability to think clearly.
Excerpted from my latest column at ThinkAdvisor
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