You may be familiar with the famous selective attention study at Harvard, in which viewers are asked to watch a short video and count the number of times the people wearing white shirts pass the basketball. It’s not difficult.
The answer is 15. But (spoiler alert) the shocking result is that 50% of viewers are so focused on counting the basketball passes that they miss the woman in a gorilla costume walking amongst the players. Imagine! 50% of us can be so focused on what we’re expecting to see that we miss a gorilla walking past!
Of course, selective attention serves us well; it’s what allows us to get things done. But the famous gorilla study offers a powerful metaphor: If we’re overly attached to specific plans and expectations for the situation, the day, or our life, there’s a good chance we will miss out on some of life’s delights and opportunities. And if our attachment to certainty runs deep, we may find less capacity to reach solutions.
RelationSmiths, Nancy and Sharon
This week’s challenge: Include spaciousness in your attention.
