Makes Sense - with Dr. JC Doornick - Good Shift - The Currency of Attention - E212

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, sense makers. This is part of our new Good Shift series, where we take actual content from our Make Sense substack and bring it to you live right here on Wednesdays. We hope that you'll love it because this is some good shift. Have you noticed that the world that we live in has been doing most of the thinking for you? That your beliefs, perceptions, reactions, fears and doubts have been shaped by unsolicited outside noise? How easy it's been for you to slip into that default sleepwalking mode and label it as life and reality. Yeah, that ends here. Welcome to the Make Sense with Dr. J.C. podcast. This is your opportunity to start thinking for yourself, reclaim control, and step back into that role as the shock caller and dominant force of your own reality.

Starting point is 00:00:49 It's when you change the way that you look at things, that the things that you look at begin to change. So let's wake up. Let's rise up and let's make sense of why and how shift happens. Hmm. Makes sense. This is some good shift. Maybe consciousness is partly a function of perception. The brain is constantly deciding what reaches the front of our awareness and what remains in the background.

Starting point is 00:01:19 It amplifies certain signals, filters out others, and then hands us a story about what actually matters. Over time, the world around us helps program that filter. We are taught what to notice, what to pursue, what to fear, and what to care about. Then the operating system brings those selected things forward so consistently that they begin to feel unquestionably important. This is where the idea of currency becomes useful. Remember, currency is the limited supply of time, energy, attention, and focus that we have available to distribute across each day. We often believe as if this supply is unlimited, or as Jim Cook would say, limitless, until the day has demanded more than we believe that we can give. Then we reach that end of ourselves and say things like, after the day that I just

Starting point is 00:02:14 had, I could care less about that. Or do you have any idea what kind of day I just had? Of course, we may have had a genuinely difficult day. The fatigue is. The fatigue is. is real, the pressure is real, and the need for rest is real. This is not about pretending that we have no limits or shaming ourselves for being depleted. It's about noticing what depletion can hide. When the brain has spent the day amplifying deadlines, problems, conflicts, money, performance, and threat, it has the tendency to filter out the quieter signals that are waiting right behind us. Maybe it's your partner that maybe needs to be seen and heard. A child may simply want our attention because they love, idolize, and admire us.

Starting point is 00:03:00 Maybe it's a small moment of connection that might be asking you for only a few undivided seconds. Those moments rarely announce themselves as emergencies. They don't compete well with the loudest items in our operating system. However, they may actually be the moments that become the real architecture of our life. The tragedy is actually forgetting that we're spending it and forgetting that our attention is also a form of love. The interface response system gives us a way to interrupt that automatic pattern. First, we perceive. Notice what has captured your attention and what has disappeared from view as a result.

Starting point is 00:03:37 Before declaring that you have nothing left and handing the keys of trust over to those distractions, just say, hmm, pause, and just take one breath. Let the day stop pushing you around for just a moment. And then step into that awesome space where we can actually process things. What is actually important right now? What is this person really asking for? What will I remember about this moment tomorrow? Or 10 years from now?

Starting point is 00:04:05 Anything? Then we're ready to move from reaction to response. And we can proceed. Make a deliberate choice. Rest if rest is needed. Set a boundary if a boundary is needed. Or turn towards the person in front of you and offer the attention that you still have.

Starting point is 00:04:23 We don't need an unlimited supply. of currency to live well. We need awareness of where it is going and the courage to redirect some of it towards what matters most. The future will always present another demand. Our inbox will always refill. The problem list will always regenerate. There will always be one more reason to postpone the conversation, the hug, the listening, or that precious moment of presence. But life does not pass us by in one dramatic event. It passes through, hundreds of ordinary moments that we were too distracted, too justified, too depleted to notice. Maybe the good shift for today is not caring about everything equally.

Starting point is 00:05:06 Maybe it's about learning to care selectively and making sure that the things and people that we love are not repeatedly placed below the noise. Make sense? That's it for today. To support the Make Sense with Dr. J.C. podcast, be sure to subscribe, like, and share, as well as follow the Make Sense substack for free daily quotes, live streams, and blogs.

Starting point is 00:05:29 And remember, learning without action is just another form of distraction. If something hit home and you learn something today, give it away. That's the only way it's going to stay. See you next time. Makes sense.

Starting point is 00:05:48 If you like the show, please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe. It really does help the show to grow. Thank you for listening. listening.

Makes Sense - with Dr. JC Doornick - Good Shift - The Currency of Attention - E212

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