The average gold fish has an attention span of 9 seconds.
The average 18-29-year-old has an attention span of 8 seconds. *
40 percent of 18-29-year-olds are in a stage of struggle and meet the criteria for psychiatric diagnoses. Teen depression and suicide is linked to increased use of social media and smart phones and technology addiction. *
By now you might already have stopped paying attention? Anyways,
Our speedy world is making it increasingly challenging to be present. For all of us. So much information. Social media. Underlying stress. So much to do, achieve. So little time.
When we are stressed our attention is naturally fragmented. But today’s stress and shattered attention is making our brains work in ways it is evolutionary not trained for, resulting in difficulties in filtering, digesting, organizing and prioritizing all the inputs and information. As a consequence, many people are experiencing restlessness, distractedness, shattered-mindedness.
The good news is that our brains are plastic, it’s capacity to change through life experiences, knowledge or mental training. We can rewire our brains by training new habits with mindfulness for example.
We are tremendously affected by what we pay attention to. Where your attention goes, becomes a habit, and eventually your life.
What do you pay attention to throughout the day? Problems? Regrets? Self-criticism? Threats? Mistakes? Do you have the capacity to rest in attention of what’s healthy and nourishing for you?
Pause and reflect three times today, and ask: where do I focus my attention in this very moment?
Mindfulness helps focus the attention, reduces stress and calms the mind. The practice allows us to become aware of how the physical body, thoughts, emotions interact and understand how to regulate emotions – chose what you pay attention to.
An introduction course to mindfulness meditation starts on Tuesday 22 January, 19.15-20.45, Mariatorget.
Read more www.sjalvtrygg.se/mindfulnessmeditation/
* Source: research at MindfulNYU and What Now?by Yael Shy, Senior Director at MindfulNYU
#mindfulness #mindresilience #resilience #meditation #mindfulnessmeditation #jackkornfield #tarabrach #attention #strengthenattention
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