Short-term goals and attention busters
Suppose you are playing a match
of cricket in the street or the lawn of your home with your friends. Your mom
calls you for something. What is your first reaction to the call? Most of you
would say, “Yah, Just coming.” Just consider another example. Suppose you have
arranged a date with your lover. In order enjoy the time with your lover thoroughly,
what do you do? You just switch off your mobile as you do not want your
attention to be diverted (busted) because of unnecessary, as well as necessary,
calls. Same happens when you are present at an office meeting, where you have
to do a presentation which will play a critical role at the next promotion. You
just concentrate on the presentation, and nothing else. You really do not allow
your attention to get diverted or busted; rather, you guard it at any cost.
The aforementioned are the examples
of everyday life. These examples prove that we all know the value of attention
and practice the art of guarding it at any cost, i.e., we know and practice the
art of blasting away the attention busters.
Long-terms goals and attention busters
However, the same does not apply to
the tasks that do not have the immediate results. That means, a match of cricket,
a date with the lover, and a presentation meeting, all have immediate results,
or the short-term results. The intended desires are fulfilled in a short time. But,
what about the long-term goals and desires. For example, as a student, you
prepare for the annual exam right in the beginning of a semester. If you
somehow miss a class, you try to copy the class notes from your friend’s
notebook, if you are really serious about the studies. That really illustrates that
you are giving full attention to your studies. But most of the times, students say
that the exams are far away, we will read at the time of exams. Isn’t it? Let’s
take another example.
Corruption is the hottest issue in India.
The issue is being tackled at various levels by various leaders and the Government
of India. Anna Hazare’s movement against corruption and for the implementation
of Lokpal Bill has been acclaimed all over the world. However, just consider
our response to his call. When he is in Delhi and gives a call for the
anti-corruption movement, we gather around him, support him, attend his speeches,
write messages on Twitter and Facebook, follow him wherever he goes, and fully participate
in his fast till death. That means, we give our full attention to his movement.
But what happens when he is not in Delhi. We all loosen up. Our attention gets
busted, diverted. We attend to our routine needs and life. We resume our
offices, and clubs, and parties, etc. Really and actually, Hazare’s movement becomes
an incident to talk and write about.
Thus, aforementioned examples
illustrate that for the short-term goals and desires, we sustain our attention
and do not allow it to get busted; however, for the long-term goals and
desires, we allow our attention to get busted and diverted.
Conclusion
Attention busters will remain and
present themselves as a routine. They will get the power over us only and only
if we empower and allow them to do so. It is on us to decide otherwise and successfully
accomplish the desired goals, either short term, or long term.
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