Don’t think about chocolate cake
- Close your eyes.
- Take a deep breath.
Now…don’t think about chocolate cake.
Did you do it? Did you manage to not think about the perfect chocolate cake?
Ok, good.
What about now?
Are you thinking about chocolate cake?
Are you wondering what I’m talking about why I won’t stop asking about rich, delicious, decadent chocolate cake?
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Billboards, and TVs in Restaurants
When I’m at a restaurant with a TV, my eyes can’t help but gravitate toward it. The harder I try to avoid it, the more I’m drawn to it.
When I’m driving, I try to ignore billboards on the side of the road. But some of them are so cryptic, I have to know what they mean. And some are so busy, I can’t help but read it and reflect on how many accidents it must’ve caused.
Our attention is a precarious resource. It is subject to hijacking at a moment’s notice.
By the way, have you stopped thinking about chocolate cake yet?
Periphery and Center Frame
So, what’s all this about chocolate cake?
Well, it turns out that whatever we’re trying to avoid thinking about tends to be the thing we wind up thinking about. We push it to the side and pretend not to care yet can’t stop glancing at it.
Meanwhile, when we push it into center frame and give it our full attention, we find that it loses its power over us very quickly. It’s as if the act of pushing away an idea is what makes it sticky, and that looking directly at it, is what allows it to actually fade away.
Our only hope of not thinking about chocolate cake, might be to not think about cheesy pepperoni pizza. If we can not think about the crispity crunchy crust and salty pepperoni goodness then we might be able to forget about…whatever it is we were supposed to not think about.
What does this have to do with Superhumans?
Well, I suppose that Superhumans are the type to want the power to resist having their attention hijacked.
But also, Superhumans probably want to develop a keen sense of control over their own attention.
Once we learn to manage our attention and focus, we become harder to stop or slow down. Learning this skill is the path for learning how to
- let go of what bothers us
- stop rumination and start taking action
- shut down distraction and get to the work that matters.
This post isn’t about chocolate cake. It’s about your ability to not think about it, no matter what anyone says.
I hope you enjoyed this post!
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