Attention and Impact

How much does your outlook influence your world? Can the management of our own emotions help us show up better at work, at home and with our loved ones? In Rapt, Winifred Gallagher explores the relationship between our attention and its impact on our lives, particularly how we feel about ourselves and others, how we perform at work, and how creative we can be. A few key findings stood out to me, with important implications:

"We see more when our focus is on the positive. Optimism is a differentiator in performance."

Subjects in a marketing study were shown a circle with different words clustered around the middle of the chart, with a few words scattered on the periphery. They were all told to focus on the center of the circle. Then the group was divided into two, with a different introduction to the activity prepared for each. One group was shown positive messages while the other was shown negative messages. Those that entered the activity on the heels of positive messaging were more likely to recall the words on the periphery, suggesting their vision and capacity to see was bigger than that of their negative friends. While there is a case for positivity, there is also a case for avoiding naivety.

Admiral James Stockdale, a Vietnam era prisoner of war said:

"You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end — which you can never afford to lose — with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be."

How clearly do you see? How can properly managing your emotions improve your vision?