Where you direct your focus is a function of the brain's attention system.
An Australian helicopter rappeller gave Jha a dramatic example of this when he told her about fighting one section of bush fire with such intensive focus that he lost track of the rest of the fire until he heard the air being sucked up behind him.
The feeling of intense focus-of being fully and productively engrossed in a task-is a good indicator that it is time to take a step back and assess if your attention is properly directed.
The feeling of intense focus-of being fully and productively engrossed in a task-is a good indicator that it is time to take a step back and ask if your attention is properly directed.
Regularly checking in on where our attention is focused isn't a default state for most of us.
Jha teaches leaders using an exercise she calls the River of Thought.