Our collapsing ability to pay attention is not primarily a personal failing on our part. This is being done to us all. It is a much bigger problem. And it costs us in quality of life and also productivity. The forces that have caused a crisis of attention are big tech firms. They are all around us and they are trying to call our attention from what we’re doing and where we must be to another place, usually as a way to distract us not only from what we’re doing but also from who we truly are ourselves. A crisis of attention has become a systemic problem. We are living in a system that is pouring acid on our attention every day, and then we are being told to blame ourselves for our lack of attention. We are told that we need to change our tech habits. And although this is true, the real problem is beyond our control. It is controlled by big tech firms who are there to make sure that we pay attention to anything but where we are and what we’re doing. Does this mean that we should just give up and let the big tech firms take over our lives? No, it isn’t. That is why I am writing this article. To wake you out of your acquiescence with such an infringement of your life and attention. I am here to tell you that you MUST take back your focus. But that you will have to do some really hard things to do so. Before I outline what you can do, I want to focus on some of the real issues behind our attention crisis. We need to take our attention back because if we don’t, we won’t experience a good quality of life. Further, when you can’t pay sustained attention on what you’re doing, you can’t achieve anything. You can’t write, think straight, or sleep. You can’t relax or just take some time for yourself. You will also be plugged in and getting tired from just drifting through your life, which is something that none of us deserve and could take the steps to avoid. Second, this fracturing of attention is causing problems not only for ourselves but for society as a whole. Since we can’t think straight, we can’t solve even the most basic of problems. Instead, we rely on the media to tell us how to think about something because its easier. But what happens to our own views about things? I witnessed this issue very startingly during the last two years with covid in our lives and mandates as well as lockdowns. None of us could think rationally enough to make an effective decision about anything. So, we relied on the media to tell us what to do. Third, if we understand what’s happening, we can do something about it. We can finally stop being plugged in and slow down. We can take time away from our devices, and we can take the time to do some thinking on our own. This is because nothing can be changed that can’t be faced and understood. Therefore, this month, I will be writing several articles on how to focus and think deeply. Please follow these discussion articles so that you can change how you think and live. There are enormous benefits to finally taking our attention back. Are you ready to do so with open arms? I sure hope because there is so much at stake. Until Next week!