"Pay Attention."

[B_Hickboy]

Do you? Do you really pay attention? What passes for paying attention in some people's minds amounts to little more than a superficial awareness of the moment's events, taken entirely out of context. Yet, at the risk of insulting anyone's intelligence by stating the blindingly obvious, everything exists within a context. Paying attention requires the effort one must put forth to observe the interaction between an object and its surroundings, simultaneously. It is no mean feat, yet something I believe all people are capable of.

The trick is to grasp something tightly enough to allow for thorough study, yet loosely enough to prevent it from becoming an obsession.

So I ask you, how good are you at paying attention?

 

[MsThang]

no i don't, i zone out all the time when people are talking to me

as for noticting an object within its surroundings...sometimes when i am zoned out i notice things i normally don't, i guess it's the ADD

 

[D_Roland_D_Hay]

In order to get a paycheck, I sorta have to pay attention. However, I will confess, there are times that my mind wanders off and before I know it a question is asked and I don't have a clue what was said.

I do make an effort to pay attention when I am having a face to face conversation with someone I like or want to impress. One of my pet peeves is an individual who is talking but looking around to see if there is something better happening or someone better entering the room.

 

[MickeyLee]

huh? what?


ohhh butterflies *is distracted*

 

[Guy-jin]

I often pay excessive amounts of attention and notice things others don't because

Man, I really wanna see Thor.

 

[MickeyLee]

stoke festing on Priest down this way, Mr. Guy-jin.

slightly on topic: lately i've been buried under responsibilities and demands of the life and death variety. the kind requiring every P, Q and variable to be reviewed, quantified and notarized in triplicate. combined with two jobs requiring accuracy down to the mileometer/milliliter.... is a bit overwhelming sometimes. i look forward to being an addled brain idiot when i get the chance.

lucky for me, i am super good at playin the fool.

 

[B_Hickboy]

Does it ever surprise you when you have to get blunt with someone whom you thought was paying attention? This has happened to me recently and I found myself surprised and a little hurt that the person involved had a much a lower level of awareness than I'd previously believed. It put a strain on the friendship. Rude things were said by both parties, and I felt the need to apologize. Still waiting for the other person to get with the program and will be sad if it doesn't happen.

 

[HiddenLacey]

I try to pay close attention to the things people are saying at all times. If the subject is tedious I tend to zone out, but I don't do it on purpose.

I'm horrible at paying attention to my surroundings when it comes to directions. I notice millions of little things around me, yet not necessarily the general location of the objects I'm focused on. I can tell someone how to get somewhere based on things I've noticed, but not the name of a road. I see something that I find interesting and I daydream about it. Not a person, just something specific about a location. Maybe little details that others around me haven't paid the slightest attention to, I'll remember forever in great detail.

 

[joyboytoy79]

I think many people in the world get confused among the terms, "pay attention," "listen," and "hear."

To hear is mostly passive. One can simply sit in close enough proximity to the speaker so that the speaker's voice is audible. Hearing has been accomplished.

To listen requires more effort. The listener must hear and think simultaneously. He or she must attempt understanding. Listening requires that the listener decode the words, the word order, the emphasis, and the tone of the speaker. It is a very powerful skill.

Paying attention is hard. First, you must hear, and think. Then you must apply what you're listening to to your backlog of knowledge. You need to add context to the words, emphasis, and tone. You must decide what are the important details, and how they relate to other events in the world around you. It requires an astute awareness of the world around you, or at the very least, the world around the topic of discussion.

Of course, I'm repeating, in more words, what Hickboy has already explained. But I think it's important for people to understand the differences. I, for one, place a lot of energy into paying attention, especially when it comes to my relationships with people. I observe, and make mental notes of, everything. If a co-worker usually dresses rather casually, and then suddenly is very dressy for a period of time, I don't just comment on her attire. I think about it, and I recall that she's been having problems with productivity. I notice that, in addition to being more dressed up, she's been more productive. I surmise that she's concerned with her position in the lab. This becomes my topic of discussion with her, and we work out a way to keep her on top of things, and make her job more secure. That's what paying attention means, and it's what makes people into good friends, lovers, brothers, sisters, parents.

I only wish more people took the time to pay attention.

 

[Intrigue]

I'm going to be brutally honest, I suck at paying attention. It's a huge flaw I've been working on for years. For some reason in conversations I cam barely follow the argument, but if it were on paper I could follow it, follow up and even respond. But as it is I find that I aggravate those closest to me with my inability to properly focus on them. When its my turn to talk I either have lost the point or lost my self within the conversation. This has gotten much better recently with proper medication. Just not happy that I even need it to begin with. I don't like crutches. But this one helps my marriage so I'll use it lol. I feel for ya Hickboy. But maybe its not entirely within that personals capability to be fully aware? I know that while people talk I'm thinking of atleast 20 different things either foing on in the room or elsewhere in my thoughts. Its difficult to quiet the storm for some. I hope your friend does come around, and I hope you have the patience to help them. (Nit saying you already don't, just saying)

 

[B_Nick8]

I just paid the gov't a bucketload of taxes. Right now I can't afford to pay attention.

 

[molotovmuffin]

No.

 

[Catchoftheday]

 

[B_Hickboy]

No.

You have an oppositional disorder.

 

[798686]

Yes and no. Depends on the importance - if I gave everything my utmost attention, my brain would burst into flames.

Having said that, I do agree that it's a bit insulting if people pay no attention when you're directly addressing them. I noticed myself doing it lately - and felt a bit sheepish. Which I liked.

 

[paigexox]

I pay as much attention as my span of apprehension allows. Humans are cognitive misers, your brain is constantly trying to slack off to save resources so they can be dedicated to where it counts.

However, it all depends on *what* you're paying attention to, be it visual or auditory stimuli. Sensation & perception was a fun class.

 

[MASSIVEPKGO_CHUCK]

I thought there were going to be refreshments served here......:question:

 

[B_Hickboy]

I thought there were going to be refreshments served here......:question:

One pill makes you larger, one pill makes you small...

 

[MASSIVEPKGO_CHUCK]

One pill makes you larger, one pill makes you small...

Yeah, that'll be either the VIAGRA or the salt peter.

 

[B_Jordan85]

I am sure that American's attention span has gotten worse over the years. but who really fucking gives a shit? Look at the website you are posting this on.