“Attention management” is a way of prolonging a comfortable view of self and one’s world by deliberately making choices about where to direct your attention. This is not the same as the positive control of attention where I choose to polish the upcoming presentation for tomorrow’s board meeting instead of channel surfing until 1am. No, this kind of attention management is in cahoots with self-deception. It aids and abets the bias, or the self-concept, or the worldview I have acquired and that works for me by allowing only a narrow field of data into my consideration. Attention management screens out disturbing or upsetting realities so that I can pursue the course of my choosing without dissonance or contradiction. It’s not a love and quest for truth, but an infatuation with comfort. It is peace at any price. Stark, unvarnished truth might upset what I would like to believe. Better not to think too deeply about it, or consider its implications!
Roger
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