A short story about attention

Holmes and Watson went camping in the suburbs.

In the middle of the night, Holmes woke Watson and said, "What do you see now?"

Watson said, "I saw the starry sky."

Holmes asked again, "What does that mean?"

Watson: "Every star is equivalent to a sun, and the earth we live in is only a very small planet in the solar system. How small we humans are! " Look, according to legend, this is Orion and that is Libra. . . . . . " .

Holmes nu way, "Watson, you idiot! Our tent was stolen by others! "

Many people have heard of a similar version and often regard it as a joke. However, what this story actually wants to tell us is:

When our attention is very lax, it is difficult to see the key truth.

Li Xiaolai mentioned in his book The Road to Wealth and Freedom that attention is our most precious wealth. Attention can actually be decided by ourselves, but we often give up. Many people often come to join in the fun, make a cup of tea and turn on their mobile phones because they have leisure. Ah, something happened to Wang. Ah, something happened to Didi. . . This kind of news always attracts many people to "watch". The energy of "people who eat melons" is always huge. If you don't know such news, it belongs to the old-fashioned existence of not picking up the so-called truth.

In the era of mobile Internet, while enjoying the convenience brought by the Internet, we have also fallen into a strange circle. We often waste our precious attention on many unknown things. We have been brushing videos and brushing WeChat, and our attention has not been guided. Often do not know the so-called follow the crowd, join in the fun. In the end, apart from adding some conversation materials to friends' parties, it is of no effective help to our lives.

Watson's cognitive level is actually high, but he doesn't have a specific goal. He kept answering what he saw, but he ignored the tent that really mattered. On the other hand, Holmes can point out the truth. Holmes's goal is very concentrated, pointing to the most important tent, automatically ignoring the starry sky and everything else. In daily life, in fact, sometimes we unconsciously enter such a state. For example, when we buy a new car, we will find many cars of this brand on the street. When my wife was pregnant, many pregnant women were found in the streets and parks. In fact, this is also the time when I unconsciously entered such a state of concentration.

In fact, what we lack is Sherlock Holmes' focus on the truth. Holmes always concentrates on one point and doesn't waste anything, which can be obtained through deliberate practice. Always focus your mind and attention on one point. Through continuous deliberate practice, form your own cognitive habits. When thinking reaches an orientation, it will automatically ignore irrelevant information and reach an efficient cognitive level.