The Power of Paying Attention

Pay Attention to Maximize Your Happiness

Attention can be powerful. Not only can it save you from getting mowed down when you cross the street while looking at your phone, but it also has the power to actually make you happier.

In the past year I’ve taken up yoga and meditation. In practicing both I’ve learned that the simple act of paying attention is pretty darn powerful. Before I left my previous career, I was so damn busy -- all of the time. I thought traveling constantly, having a full schedule of meetings, and working excessively long hours meant I was fulfilled and happy. What yoga and meditation have done is show me that being so busy was actually making me feel very unfulfilled and very unhappy. I was too busy to pay attention to the good things in my life —big or small—so I didn’t actually appreciate them. If not paying attention has the power to minimize the good then paying attention has the power to do the exact opposite.

On a recent trip to Prague I took an 8-hour walk around the city, and really paid attention to the people, the smells, and the natural beauty around me. I got a sense of place in a way that I hadn’t on previous trips to far-away places, when I was so busy making sure I did and saw everything.

This time around, I consciously under-planned my days so that I had plenty of time to just walk around with no real agenda. I allowed myself time to appreciate all I was seeing, smelling, hearing, and feeling in the moment. As I walked around on that beautiful, sunny fall day, I felt very appreciative and grateful for it all, down to the technicolor leaf I noticed as I walked along the Vltava River. It’s something that I wouldn’t have noticed or appreciated in the past; I would have been too busy and distracted to notice something so small and ordinary. But this time I did, and in noticing the delicate veining, the perfect shape, and the lovely contrast between the color of the leaf and the sidewalk, I was infinitely happier in the moment and my day was so much better. Paying attention allowed me to maximize the good in an already good day, a small lesson that I took back home with me after my trip was over. And science shows that this is just one of many benefits that come from paying closer attention. So try yoga, try meditation, or just go for a walk and actually stop and smell the roses - or look at the leaves. You'll be happier for it.