How much attention do you give to what’s not happening? If you’re anything like me, too much.

I must admit that I’m way better than I used to be but still give much attention to things that aren’t happening. The lesson I’m learning is if it’s not happening now, it’s rarely worth my attention.

When my attention drifts to the past or future, I’m missing giving attention to the building blocks of my future which are right in front of me now. Not only that, I’m also missing the richness of this moment.

Keeping your attention current does not prevent you from planning for the future or reaching back and pulling a useful building block from the past. If you attentively go into the past or future in these instances, you will stay present rather than getting lost in what’s not happening now.

Like you, I like to daydream. It’s my guilty pleasure. But if it becomes the mainstay of my mental diet, I starve out my future by pigging out on what’s not happening.

What’s not happening is often scary. It can drum up fear that immobilizes you from moving forward. It can also produce a longing for what used to be that has zero chance of happening now. These scenarios happen to all of us. The trick is to notice that you are in “What’s Not Happening Now Land” and shift your attention to what is right here, right now.

In sports you will hear players and coaches use the phrase “we have to go back to the basics” when things are not going well. Back to the basics in life is giving attention to what’s happening now. It’s the only thing really happening. The past happened and the future isn’t here, so giving them your undivided attention gives you a life that’s not happening.

Pay attention to your attention. It keeps you hip to what’s happening.

All the best,

John