<video><title>An Uncommonly Fine Life - Chapter 5 - Be Attentive</title><description>A book about principles for living a happy and fulfilled life</description><transcript><transcript><line from="00:00:00,000" to="00:00:07,040">Chapter 5. Be attentive. We live in an age of attention deficit. Our media bombards us</line><line from="00:00:07,040" to="00:00:11,680">with information but rarely presents us with a meaningful perspective. We are being told what to</line><line from="00:00:11,680" to="00:00:17,760">think and how to feel instead of being given the space to think for ourselves. All of this incoming</line><line from="00:00:17,760" to="00:00:25,360">information, minus any type of mental exercise, has left us flustered and frustrated. When we do</line><line from="00:00:25,360" to="00:00:30,720">finally have time to think, we have a hard time focusing on what's important. We don't know</line><line from="00:00:30,720" to="00:00:36,480">what to think about. We have forgotten how to simply be present. This simple skill is the foundation</line><line from="00:00:36,480" to="00:00:43,120">for everything we do. Without attention we cannot learn. Without attention we cannot love. Without</line><line from="00:00:43,120" to="00:00:51,200">attention. We cannot live. Attention is the lens through which we experience our world. It is the</line><line from="00:00:51,200" to="00:00:57,040">filter we use to determine what is important and what is not. It is our ability to focus on the things</line><line from="00:00:57,040" to="00:01:03,840">we want to focus on and to ignore the things that don't matter. Unfortunately most of us have lost the</line><line from="00:01:03,840" to="00:01:10,400">ability to filter out the unnecessary. If something catches our attention we are drawn to it.</line><line from="00:01:10,400" to="00:01:15,760">Regardless of whether it is good for us or not. The good news is that by becoming aware of what</line><line from="00:01:15,920" to="00:01:21,680">catches our attention we can learn to manage and control it. By learning to focus on the things</line><line from="00:01:21,680" to="00:01:26,880">that matter we can take control of our own lives instead of allowing the world to control us.</line><line from="00:01:28,400" to="00:01:34,240">In the West we spend so much of our time on appearances. We work out endlessly, obsessively</line><line from="00:01:34,240" to="00:01:39,440">monitoring our diet. We purchase expensive products to make sure we are always looking our best.</line><line from="00:01:40,400" to="00:01:45,840">We spend so much time in energy on our bodies. Why aren't we working out our minds to learn how to</line><line from="00:01:45,840" to="00:01:52,960">pay attention to learn how to live? Without paying attention to what we are doing we will make the</line><line from="00:01:52,960" to="00:01:59,360">same mistakes over and over again. We will never learn from our experience. We will never change.</line><line from="00:02:00,880" to="00:02:06,400">Attention is the first step towards change. Be aware of the thoughts that control your actions.</line><line from="00:02:06,560" to="00:02:12,880">Be aware of the desires that control your choices. Be aware of the media that controls your</line><line from="00:02:12,880" to="00:02:18,480">attention. Be aware of the self-importance that controls your thoughts. Be aware of the world</line><line from="00:02:18,480" to="00:02:24,800">that controls your life. In order to take control of your own life you must take control of your</line><line from="00:02:24,800" to="00:02:30,480">attention. You must learn to focus your attention on what is important and ignore the rest.</line><line from="00:02:30,480" to="00:02:35,200">You must learn how to lead your own life instead of letting life lead you.</line></transcript></transcript></video>