Attention & Identity: it shapes how you see reality

Every moment, your senses are flooded with information. Scientists estimate that the human nervous system receives up to two million bits of data.

Every second. 

Light, sound, touch, smell, and internal sensations all stream into your brain. Yet, from this vast ocean, you consciously process only about eight bits. 

The rest is filtered out.

What makes it through this filter is not random. It is determined by your identity and where you place your attention.

Identity is the story you hold about yourself. If you see yourself as a business leader, your brain will notice opportunity.

If you are a poet, you may notice the sorrow or joy in humanity. If you identify as a parent, your attention locks onto the sound of your child’s voice in a crowded room.

Attention acts like a spotlight.

Wherever you direct it, reality sharpens. But attention does not float freely,. It is anchored to who you think you are. 

This is why two people can walk down the same street and notice entirely different things. One might see the architecture, another the street food. 

Each filters reality through the lens of identity.

This filtering is not inherently bad. It is necessary. Without it, we would drown in sensory input. 

But it comes at a cost. 

You see only a sliver of what is there. Often, you mistake that sliver for the whole.

The practice, then, is awareness. If you can observe how identity shapes your attention, you gain freedom. 

You can widen the spotlight, letting in new possibilities. A person who only identifies with work might suddenly notice beauty, art, or rest. This expands not just what you perceive, but how you live.

In truth, the world is far richer than the eight bits you hold at any moment. 

By understanding your identity and shifting attention, you can reshape your reality. 

The limits are not in the world but in what you choose to see.

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