Do What Works to Pay Attention, Even if People Think You're Weird | Big Think

Do What Works to Pay Attention, Even if People Think You're Weird
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We tend to operate as if "paying attention" is uniform across human nature. As Angie McArthur, co-author of the new book Collaborative Intelligence, explains in this video, the brain's hardwiring points to several different states of attention. There's a focused, details-centric attention; there's a sorting attention wherein the mind attempts to un-confuse itself; and then there's the most highly valued "open, wide, wonder" form of attention. It's from this last form that our big ideas and ah-ha moments are derived. Naturally, we want to reside in this state of attention as much as possible when working on our projects. According to McArthur, reaching that state is a different process for everybody. It's important for companies and collaborators to facilitate environments in which all team members are able to comfortably enter their respective states of wonder-based attention.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANGIE MCARTHUR:
Angie McArthur is Professional Thinking Partners' acting CEO. She has been an integral part of PTP since 1998, co-facilitating and designing global conferences, leadership retreats, training programs, and ongoing one-on-one Thinking Partnerships in organizations from non-profits to Fortune 500s. She is also one of the creators of the Worldwide Women’s Web, a network formed in 2001 to retain women in corporate leadership roles. As an expert in perceptual learning patterns, she has developed communication strategies for authors, corporations and CEO's, and the Executive Champions Workshop. She has also designed interactive web assessments and products for corporate training programs.Angie has co-authored two books for Random House with Dawna Markova: Collaborative Intelligence (2015) and Reconcilable Differences (2017).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIPT:
Angie McArthur: So the first strategy of mind patterns is really about how we each uniquely communicate, understand, and learn. This is like the hardwiring of your brain. It has nothing to do with personality; it's really the operating system of your mind. And it starts with attention. Attention is how we attend to things in the world. And what most people don't realize is that there's more than one way of paying attention. We consider attention in one form, paying attention. If you imagine my hands as your mind, this is focused attention. This is where details are apparent; this is where you have a lot of concentration. The mind also moves into a second state of attention. This is sorting attention. This is where confusion happens. This is where you're listening or experiencing something and you're attaching it to your own stories, your own history. This is where the brain is deciding am I going to keep this piece of information or am I going to discard it?

The third state of attention is open-wide, wonder. This is where insight happens. This is where you ah-ha moments. In this culture, we tend to only value this state of attention. We will caffeinate ourselves. We will do anything to keep in this state of attention. However, in order to have the type of breakthroughs that we so desperately need, we have to give ourselves space and time to go into these wider states of attention. The interesting thing is we each do that in a different way. And so for some, visual information is very important, it helps them focus. For others, kinesthetic information or hands-on experiences will help them remain focused. This is the person you may see fidgeting around a lot or moving a lot. What their mind is actually doing is trying to pay attention. And still for others, auditory information helps them keep focused. They're very quick with their words. The language they use is very ornate.

Similarly to get into an open state of attention, for some to get up in the back of a meeting room and pace around helps them have that insight, that ah-ha, that breakthrough. But, if we're in that meeting room I may look at that person and go, "Oh my gosh why are they standing up and walking around?" I may feel disrespected, when in fact we understand these types of diversities through the lens of mind patterns with one another. Instead of seeing that person as being difficult we actually are recognizing that their mind needs something different in that moment in order to think.

We tend to operate as if "paying attention" is uniform across human nature. As Angie McArthur, co-author of the new book Collaborative Intelligence.....

[OSRS_KQs]

I'm always the guy who prefers the back of the group/room. It's extremely annoying when I'm repeatedly told to come into the group to listen. That's where I don't remember anything because of all the distractions around me. Put me in the outside of the group, and I will remember everything you say. Put me in the innards of the group, and I will remember the exact motion John's hand made when he brushed lint off of his shirt and the expression on Heather's face when that fly buzzed in front of her. Let me be, people. Let me be.

[necessaryevil]

I'm so broke I can't even afford to pay attention. -_-

[Firefox]

For me, I can be on 2 hours of sleep or less. And I may even be going in and out of micro sleep.

But the moment someone starts telling a story, I immediately am fully engaged 100%. That's at the most extreme case scenario, but in general I'm most engaged when I process information through a story. :)

[joenystrand]

I can parallel everything she said as a grown man with ADHD who requires hands-on experience and a lot of visual information to process and learn things. I appreciate everything about this video. :)

[arctisCircle]

For me, I'm only able to really grasp information if I'm walking out and about. In my classes, I'm able to take notes of that information, sure. But, I'm never able to actually learn it; much of what I learn will just get dumped. Going home to study never works, either, since there's always so much stuff to distract me. However, I've found that I'm able to study best when I'm walking around. I might take a picture of my notes that I've written down from each of my classes, go outside, and just look at my phone as I walk around my neighbourhood in a loop. I've done this many times and, surprisingly, it has worked very well for me.

It's a shame I still have to do homework to "help study" this information, though.

[scruffyp]

The bit where tyler durden flashes onscreen totally distracted me.

[ABitOfTheUniverse]

You get up to walk around and regain focus, and the rest of the class looks at you like a disturbance. The teacher recognizes this and orders you to return to your seat. If this behavior continues, it is likely you will be reprimanded further; you may gain an unfortunate distinction from would-be peers, an effect which leads to a downward spiral at school, at home and in public places.

You've now entered, The Twilight Zone.

[redcell]

1:27 - 1:28
All I saw was a skip in the frames.
#Hiro

[sypher]

I would give this woman all of my attention.

[laetrille]

Moral of the story, f%#k what others think.

[dramalexi]

A good way to keep good attention is to force yourself the thought, that you are fit and healthy all the time, even if you slept not so well last night or have worked a lot.

[madman]

Who is this Attention and why are we paying it?!?!

[erdwaenor]

I just don't see how personality (or some other concept with similar relevance) isn't directly involved in every process she has described. The processes' descriptions and interpretations she presented are very clarifying though; but she seems to discard some important piece of the whole system at the beggining of her speech (the relation of these mechanisms with personality). Of course personality is a much more abstract concept or phenomenon, than the more likely observable phenomenons she was talking about. It certainly requires more investigations - or a more complete presentation if studies are fine, which I doubt.

[fsandlksndkasd]

Her name is Angie McArthur

for research purposes only..

[MrMetrizable]

Alright, I don't get why we're letting CEOs speak about such subjects as thought they were experts. Can we leave the psychology to the academics, please?

[korlic]

I strongly disagree with this girl saying we try to disregard the first two states of attention.

[Bungie]

Personally I learn best trough dialogue, this means I speak way too much to the teacher during class

[ShawnRavenfire]

What did she say?  I wasn't paying attention.  ;-p

[Yohrog]

1:24 I think I found a glitch in the Matrix...

[brodman]

everyone get high. Never care about what others are doing and less likely to care what others think about what you are doing.
When I get high, I just go ahead and do what feels right. Lay in the middle of the kitchen floor facing up to the roof and listening to music. People will be like WTF! ? WHy ARENT YoU sitting in a CHaIR.
But you can just smile and keep listening