Stoic Snippets: Price Of Paying Attention

We no longer struggle to find information—we struggle to ignore it. In a world designed to steal your attention, your edge comes from what you choose not to engage with. Focus is now a skill, not a given.

Transcript

Welcome to Stoic Snippets, The track that is short in length but not in depth. It is essential for you to remember that the attention you give any action should be in proportion to its worth. Marcus Aurelius. For all of human history, Our capacity to have an edge, Be productive or live well was dictated by our access to information. Now, This is particularly pointed out by a funny story that Aristotle writes about. This was about the Tales of Melantis, Who decided to show the importance of thinking to those who ridiculed him for his studies while being in poverty. He thought, I will show you, I will show you the importance of thinking and bringing information together. You see, He was the first person to note the subtle correlation between astronomy, Meteorology, And olive oil. You see, In his local town, What would happen was when there was a good crop of olives and people needed to make olive oil, There wasn't enough machinery to press the olive oil. And when things were quiet, Of course, There was too many presses around and so they were very cheap. There was this famine and feast with olive oil presses. What he realized is that by looking at the night sky and certain stars, He could work out if there was going to be a good yield in a year's time or not. And knowing this, He would buy the contracts to rent out olive oil presses way ahead of time when they were very cheap. No one was using them in winter, A year just after there had been no yield at all. But he knew that there would be a big crop coming in, In the next year. And so he made a lot of money effectively predicting the future. This made him a very rich man, But I imagine he was more satisfied with knowing that he was right. I can relate to that. Now what this shows is that there is a information premium. Those who have data have an edge in all walks of life. However, In today's age, We are drowning in information more than we could ever contemplate. The trick now is not getting more information, More data. It's knowing what data to ignore. It's now a full-time job to ignore the majority of information that you get and focus on what you actually need to do. Focus on what you actually need to know. Social media play this game so well. They promise you insights into weight loss, Into travel, Into finance or anything. But before you know it, There you are sidetracked and now you're watching a cat ride a lawnmower and wondering how on earth you got here. So instead of giving your attention away for free, Ask, Is this necessary? Is this something that actually is adding to your life? Because I hate to break it to you, Every minute you spend scrolling is gone forever. But this goes further. It includes arguments, Frustration, Meaningless work. All these things should only be taken seriously if they relate to your life somehow. Work out what proportion it is worthwhile to your life. It is essential for you to remember that the attention you give any action should be in due proportion to its worth. So be more discerning with your time, Your effort and your attention. Save your focus and attention for the things that actually matter in your life. God knows there are enough of them. So take Marcus Aurelius' word and really pay attention to what you pay attention to. Before I go, Just a note to say, If you're enjoying this Stoic content, Go check out the courses. We dive much deeper into Stoic philosophy and I think you'd really enjoy them. All right, Until next time, Good luck out there.