Attention. The innate ability we have to focus on concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring others. Attention: also, quite easy to forget what we are paying attention to and most importantly, we are almost never aware of what we are not paying attention to.

I believe that attention to other living beings (other humans, us, plants, animals, …) is scarce nowadays. If we think of scarcity as when human needs exceed available resources, the need for attention between us is there. We are social animals, and we all need in some extent attention from other humans. But the available resource (i.e. attention) is most probably not there, divided, or not available at all. 

I propose that we consider attention as a resource – one that we all possess but often fail to recognize as such. As the author Tim Ferris insightfully notes, “Income is renewable, but some other resources – like attention – are not”. He further illustrates this by considering our supposed leisure time: “Is your weekend free if you find a crisis in the inbox Saturday morning that you can’t address until Monday morning? Even if the inbox scan lasts 30 seconds, the preoccupation and forward projection for the subsequent 48 hours effectively deletes that experience from your life. You had time but you didn’t have attention” (Ferriss, 2024).

This leads me to time and attention. We all have time. In a sense, we are time. It exceeds us. We can’t escape time. Time is a condition we have and everything, all we do, happens within time. Attention is different. In some cases, we can be selective on what we are paying attention to. Whenever I am talking to a loved one and my mind is wandering on what to say next or my tasks for tomorrow… are am I really there? Am I really having that experience if my attention is not there?

Broadly speaking, we can think of attention in two types as Oliver Burkeman points out. “The “bottom-up” or involuntary attention, which can refer to hearing a siren, hearing a baby cry and so on and the “top- down” or voluntary kind where we can exert some influence over that type of attention (Burkeman, 2021). 

In this essay, I am going to focus on the scarce resource of the “top-down” or voluntary attention to other human beings and ultimately on our own selves. 

I believe that paying attention to what we are paying attention to is crucial for a worthwhile life. Burkeman points out: “Attention is life. Your experience of being alive consists of nothing other than the sum of everything to which you pay attention […] So when you pay attention to something you don’t specially value, it’s no exaggeration to say that you’re paying with your life” (Burkeman, 2021). 

To begin with, we can state that our attention is highly valuable. It is fought over between multimillionaire companies accros the globe. As the technology critic Tristan Harris says, each time you open a social media app, there are a “thousand people on the other side of the screen” paid to keep you there. (Burkeman, 2021). The fact that our attention is fought over, at the very least, can lead us to conclude that our attention is relevant and valuable. 

Let’s think of plants for a minute. Plants are aware and attentive to their environment. Some plants, grow in direction to where the sunlight is. They are attentive to what makes them grow and act based on that. We - humans - are complex beings. Our lives are intertwined with different environments and pressures which makes it hard to filter out what is important for us and what we really want to pay attention to.

Whenever I talk to a friend, I expect him/her to really listen to me. To be the focus of his/her attention, at least, for a while. I believe that expecting that is rare and to receive it is scarce nowadays. 

We are filled with distractors and devices that are potentially distractors. We wear “smart” watches, rings, and all sort of devices in our bodies. I am not exaggerating when I say that our phones are in our hands. If we don’t have a pocket where to store our phones, some of us, carry it in our hand all the time. Our hand is glued to a new stimuli. And that stimuli is a very powerful distractor.

I do not want to state the classic argument such as “It is hard to focus our attention on the things we value, because there are so many distractors out there”. The distractors have been around for a long time. Activities to engage our minds in have been around for thousands of years. 

As Paul McCartney asks in his (lovely) song Distractions, 

“What is this thing in life, that persuades me to spend time away from you? If you can answer this, you can have the moon […] Why are there always so many other things to do?” (McCartney, 1989)

What persuades us from not paying attention to others and ultimately, to ourselves? 

I believe, the first answer to that is, we tend to forget our most basic condition. Finitude.

We are not always aware of our finitude in time. And that’s probably a good thing… we would not really be able to operate if we are always thinking of our finitude and ultimately, that our lives will end. 

However, it is even more rare to think of attention as something finite. It is literally impossible to pay attention to everything in life. It, obviously, exceeds us. In a way, our brains are filter machines. Therefore, our attention is focus on some things that call for our attention. Our task is to filter out the input very thoughtfully and decisively we receive to direct our output to what we consider valuable.

Since our attention is finite, the underlying question is, where do I really want to pay attention to? And probably most important… what am I paying attention to at this very moment? Does this resonate with me? Is this where I want my life to be heading?

Accepting our attention finitude can very much liberate us for being more thoughtful on what we are paying attention to. 

Going back to a statement I made on distractors. I do not think that we do not pay attention to others because there are many distractors. The real issue is that paying attention to others in itself is hard. We see for distractors, such as constantly checking our phones, because paying attention to others is hard. Listening takes effort and patience and a spirit of surrender and because what you might hear might upset you (Burkeman, 2021). Naturally, checking our phones and not losing the sense of control is more pleasant.

Paying attention to others mean that you have to be open, vulnerable, and willing to be actively listening to the other person. However, when we do this, it ends up being a way of connecting to others in a more profound manner. I won’t open up as much in a dinner table if I see phones on the table. Subconsciously, it reminds me that there are more important things for you and your attention might drift away in any second (Best, 2021).

I began by saying that I believe that voluntary or top-down attention to other humans and ultimately our own selves is a scarce resource. But, why is paying attention to others relevant? Can’t I live just live my life and pay attention to myself?

In a very extensive study conducted by Doctor Robert Waldinger, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard University, he highlights that the quintessential element of happiness in our lives is our relationships with others (Waldinger & Schulz, 2023). Engaging with people and nurturing our connections is fundamental.This pivotal research suggests that where we direct our attention matters immensely; focusing on our interpersonal relationships is not only relevant but essential to our well-being.

Acknowledging the scarcity of attention, we need to institute practices that foster mindful engagement. Here's a strategy that could be implemented in educational settings and in our own personal lives. 

I envision an “Attention Economics” course embedded into curricula from adolescence through higher education. The course will challenge students to critically analyse their attention allocation and make conscious decisions about their focus. 

To enrich the curriculum, I propose quarterly “Attention Retreats”. Outdoor excursions free from digital intrusions and any other possible distractor. In these retreats, students will engage in reflective questioning to determine their next steps aligned with their evolving interests and passions. Each retreat will aim to illuminate a dingle, well-considered action that resonates with current aspirations. The idea is to find the very best next step. 

Within these retreats, small group discussions will form the cornerstone, fostering a community of trust and mutual respect. Active listening will be practiced carefully, acknowledging that in our reflections, we often see ourselves mirrored by our peers.

A critical component of this initiative includes workshops on mindful technology use, addressing a gap in contemporary education. We will empower students - especially teenagers - to navigate their digital worlds with intention. Potentially, transforming they everyday experiences with technology.

Key values for these retreats are vulnerability, openness, and compassion. By embracing these qualities, participants can forge deeper connections with others and with themselves.As part of the curricula, I propose to a simple yet powerful exercise into our daily lives. A morning reflection where each person asks, “What am I paying attention to?”

A question can - sometimes - be more powerful than an answer.









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Reference List / Bibliography / Sources: 

Ferriss, T. (2024). Income is renewable, but some other resources—like attention—are not. LinkedIn. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/posts/timferriss_income-is-renewable-but-some-other- resourceslike-activity-7153381196540911616-uAH0 

Burkeman, O. (2021). Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, Farrar, Straus and Giroux 

Waldinger, R., & Schulz, M. (2023). The Good Life: Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness., Simon & Schuster 

McCartney, P. (1989). Distractions [Song]. On Flowers in the Dirt. MPL Communications. 

Best, K. (2021, January 29). Phubbing: Does Having a Phone Out Make Someone Feel Snubbed? UConn Today. https://today.uconn.edu/