Attention Under Pressure
Two sentence summary of this post:
The post reflects on how global attention overload and constant schedule disruptions can be exhausting, but argues that the real challenge isn't the external chaos, but rather controlling our own reaction to it. By practicing how we respond to change in safe, reflective environments, we can transform inevitable setbacks into opportunities, as I discovered when three cancellations unexpectedly freed up time to write this very piece.
This is only the beginning of spring and it’s been a handful, to say the least, globally. Conflicts threaten our thoughts like we should be involved. Like it’s about our very own existence. Like everything’s happening next door. And for some, that’s reality, I respect that. My heart goes out to you, and I wish you endurance and safety.
But let’s be real, most of us still live comfortably far from anything threatening. We “know” way more, than we should. Because attention is now globalized. Turbulent times started way before you like to remember. No, not around 2020. We’re living through challenges since we were born, and that means different perspectives for everyone. We just got exposed to more, and that is exhausting to everyone.
This is going to be a bit lighter topic moving forward, I promise you.
How do you handle change of plans? When your schedule is tight and someone cancels. Because life happens. Where does your focus go? What crosses your mind immediately? Do you stay with that thought?
I had three cancellations this week, two within 24 hours, while I had one desire in mind since the beginning of the week. I wanted to write, but my schedule seemed impossible when I looked at it on Monday. Manifestation I’d presume? There was something in the air, that’s for sure.
My weekly plan didn’t include me being in my own observation for a reflective piece on attention. Yet here I am utilizing the time I got back.
Pressure from change is constant
Change is a long time friend of mine, professionally. My last official role required me to orchestrate it for 15 teams of 130ish people. Before that, to build bridges between engineers and casual users. Schedule jam packed from start to finish only to have mission critical stakeholder don’t show up to an assessment. Cancelling after last minute. If you know, you know.
In those moments I had to make conscious decisions on how to go forward. With the skipped at hand, but more importantly, on what to focus on regarding how I felt at the moment. You see all those moments created crossroads, where an alternative path revealed itself that was hidden until that point.
It used to be an uncomfortably weird day, if nothing changed in plans for a morning. You know, hearing the quiet before the storm. Like when the air becomes heavy right before the strike. You knew exactly, that it will hit on Friday. You executed within the frameworks in place to mitigate and minimize risks, yet it was inevitable. New shit hit the fan by the end of the week and you had to learn on the spot. Only experience can teach you that feeling.
That’s the beauty of it, if you make an effort to change perspective. Controlled excitement. If you could predict and know everything what’s about to happen, life would become incredibly dull. So dull, you’d be hooked on extreme sports to feel something again. The rush of adrenaline.
Let’s loop reaction to change back in. What do you do usually? Not going to lie, I used to become incredibly frustrated. My attention shifted immediately to how frustrating that is to deal with last minute cancellations. It was exhausting to deal with my reaction, not the situation. That’s life, it flows rather unpredictably. So you can’t control that. You can however, control your attention.
Sounds revolutionary, yet somewhat difficult in the beginning. Because just as with building muscles, your power to control your own attention is untrained. You have to go through real experience and learn reflectively to become better at it. No shortcuts, no real help in books.
Create controlled pressure to practice
Whatever happened this week with my schedule happened before and will happen again, that’s certain. There’s only one variable in my story, and that’s my reaction to change. My ability to learn from my emotions. Because we all learn through self-reflection. Through the process of sometimes making mistakes. And that’s okay as I don’t aim to be perfect, and I suggest neither should you.
We can however promise ourselves to keep at it. Keep developing ourselves, mainly for ourselves but I swear to you, your environment will benefit from your growth just as much. The only downside is that you have to put in your efforts. The tricky part is that you’ll do that anyway in your life, whether you like it or not. Life is designed in that way, even if you move to the woods and leave society.
That’s where I think self-development comes into play. We can all decide to spend an hour in a controlled environment where we’re safe to experiment. That’s a gamechanger if you think about it. Real life sandbox at our disposals, working on almost whatever topic we feel interested in. On top of that, we don’t have to do that completely alone. Because that can feel scary and overwhelming.
Practicing our reactions and reflecting on how we feel during that process can prepare us to those inevitable changes in schedule, for example. How to handle that stress and what to do with it. Spoiler alert, not flipping desks with more enthusiasm. What’s also nice is that it gives us the possibility to practice how to control our attention.
If I reflect on all this, it feels like a cheat code, to have someone who allows me to practice my attention on uncomfortable topics for an hour. That’s one of the reasons I continue to work on my personal development, because it helps me prepare to the inevitable shitshows, and to learn that I can look at them differently.
Oh yes, that should also be the common practice. Professional supporters have the responsibility to work on ourselves, constantly. Not just for ourselves, but for our clients. To stay regulated and continue to grow our mental muscles. That ensures our ability to really partner the process. If you ever encounter a mental health professional who proudly says: “I’m done as I’m complete and don’t have to continue self-development.“, run.
Universe, citrus & the refreshing beverage
Attention is one of our most precious commodity. Realize that. Decide what to do with the information.
Right, that sounds like a hollow motivational poster. Yet if you listened closely, you could understand how I utilized it for my purpose in a better way. I could’ve stayed bummed about the cancellations, but that wouldn’t solve anything. My schedule was altered anyway, nothing else was there to do about it.
There was only one thing I could do. Be a grown-up and use it as an opportunity. That’s why you can read this today, because I decided to sit down instead, and wrote this piece. That’s what I wanted in the beginning of the week and I’ve got. It’d have been stupid not to be happy about the chance that otherwise wouldn’t be available to me during the week. So that’s what I am at the moment. Happy, that I had the chance, to reflect and write.
It’s perfectly okay to ask for support. You don’t have to figure everything out on your own. While I believe everyone is their own best expert, I’m also a big believer in asking for help to create change together. It’s comforting to have someone by our side as we go through transitions. If you’re feeling motivated to expand your comfort zone and curious about how I can support you on your journey, let’s talk.
