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Tips Health 32 www.jobsfor teams.com JOBS for TEAMS | Become the Supreme Commander of Your Mind: How to Effectively Manage Your Attention I n our last article, we provided a big picture overview of what attention is and how it works. We explored the fact that while many people only think of attention in terms of the ability to focus on a single task, there are in fact several different types, each with their distinctive benefits and drawbacks. Attention mastery, then, is actually all about attention management. Attention is a precious resource. We only have so much. To get the most out of life we must learn to utilize and allocate our at- tention effectively. Thus mastering your powers of concentration requires becoming the supreme commander of your mind's armed forces – budgeting your resources, knowing your divisions' strengths and weaknesses, placing a particular unit at the battlefront at certain times, and mov- ing it to the rear for rest at others. Are you ready to win the war on dis- traction? Here's your battle plan. Your Focus is Your Reality: How to Manage the Big Picture Attention is more than just focus- ing on completing a task. We use our attention to shape and frame life's big picture as well. You can tell what a man truly values by observing what he pays attention to the most. And as countless spiritual teachers have warned, what a man pays attention to ends up molding his soul and character. Your focus truly is your reality. For that reason, attention mastery must begin at the most macro level, with directing your attention away from that which distracts from your life's purpose and towards what's really important. As supreme commander of your mind, you need to know why you're fighting this war and have an overarching plan for how you're going to attain victory. Here's how you draw up a strategy and stick with it: • Make sure your principles and goals are crystal-clear. When a man lacks guiding principles, his attention mind- lessly pivots to whatever the world tells him is important, and typically what the world tells him is important is corrosive to a truly flourishing life. Knowing your core values and hav- ing a blueprint for your goals creates focusing lenses that help direct your attention to what matters most, while cropping out the superfluous and distracting. • Use the Eisenhower Decision Matrix to get your priorities in line. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and unfortu- nately, seemingly urgent tasks make the most noisy grabs for our attention, even though they may not actually be important. Assigning your tasks to the By Brett & Kate McKay, courtesy of www.artofmanliess.com JobsForTeams 0614_HealthHelp.indd 1 5/6/14 4:35 PM