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The Kevin Miller Podcast

How To Control Your Attention, Which Is Your Power | Amishi Jha

The Kevin Miller Podcast

Kevin Miller

Nutrition, Relationships, Mental Health, Education, Social Sciences, Science, Society & Culture, Self-improvement, Health & Fitness, Religion & Spirituality, Spirituality, Medicine, Life Sciences, How To

4.51.4K Ratings

🗓️ 25 October 2021

⏱️ 67 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

#935: Dr. Amish Jha is a professor of psychology at the University of Miami. She serves as the Director of Contemplative Neuroscience for the Mindfulness Research and Practice Initiative. Dr. Jha’s work has been featured at NATO, the World Economic Forum, The Dalai Lama's Vision Summit, and The Pentagon. She has received coverage in The New York Times, NPR, TIME, Forbes and more. She is the author of Peak Mind, which we discuss in this show. She has spent the last 25 years researching the science of attention through extensive work with the US Military, medical professionals, elite sports teams, and more to answer this question. Her TED Talk on "How to Tame Your Wandering Mind" has over 5 million views Here’s the deal...think of the world of business and marketing, but then the role of parents and teachers, and you readily hear the phrase of, “How can I get their attention?!” Today we spend everyday tuned in to screens whose sole purpose is to get our attention, to the degree we now must make a focus on, “How do I get my own attention?” Our attention is in many ways, the only power we have. The only thing we have an influence and impact on, the only thing we can help or find success in or enjoy, is what we give out attention to. We all know the concept of budgeting our money, and our time. Now we’re faced with budgeting our attention, and if we can’t control our attention, all hope is lost toward much progress in our lives. Find Amishi’s book, Peak Mind, wherever you get your books. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

The type of attention that actually changes perception is something called the brain's

0:04.6

orienting system.

0:05.6

And the metaphor I like to use, and you've read the book so you know, is this notion of

0:09.6

flashlight.

0:11.0

So what does a flashlight do?

0:12.6

Whatever it is that we direct the flashlight toward, we get more information, better clarity,

0:19.5

more acuity, and we can use that to maneuver well.

0:24.1

One way we get to use our flashlight is by deciding where we direct it, okay?

0:31.0

But this is a resource that can also be yanked by things in the external environment.

0:37.0

A ding of the phone, somebody calls out your name, you know, all of those things, your

0:42.4

flashlight is going to go to those.

0:43.7

And by the way, it's going to go there like this without your knowledge.

0:47.4

You are just going to orient to it.

0:50.4

And we know the kinds of things that get our flashlights going.

0:53.7

Things like threatening or stressful information, self-related information, things that have

0:59.2

to do with basic needs, sex drugs, rock and roll, if you might say.

1:03.2

Those are the kinds of things that are just going to grab us before we even have a chance

1:07.1

to say, hey, wait a second, that's not where I want it to go.

1:10.3

So in that moment, what's the most important thing you need to be able to do?

1:13.5

Know where your flashlight is pointing, so that you can say, ah, this is where I want

1:17.7

to be.

1:18.7

Here's where it is.

...

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