Why Giving Attention Makes a Difference

Have you ever taken a day to notice what you pay the most attention to? We might not be aware of it, but those around us certainly do. And it controls our lives more than we think.

Kare Anderson writes an interesting piece in the Harvard Business Review on how attention controls our lives. Hired by Disney World executive as a cultural anthropologist to understand what captured the attention of kids at their theme park, she observed that it wasn't the "Disney Magic" that most captured their attention - it was their parents' cell phones. She observes "those kids clearly understood what held their parents' attention - and they wanted it too."

So the next time you're with your kids, your team or your significant other - put the phone away. Turn off the laptop and give your undivided attention.

And when you're feeling negative and pessimistic, know that we are capable of physically rewiring our brains to focus on the positive simply by being aware of what we're giving our attention to.