The only important question in your life is “what am I paying attention to right now?”
That’s it. Usually I use something like “what am I paying attention to right now and is it serving me” or a different question after the and to specify what I want to focus on but the core question remains the same.
Yea, it’s about this. The Only Important Question (TOIQ) allows for constant intention and this intention can compound into amazing things.
If you look at any good advice, the core meta question is always dealing with TOIQ.
Am I paying attention to harmful beliefs? Am I paying attention to short-form content that is distracting me from my work? Am I paying attention to thoughts that energize me? Am I paying attention to this detail or that detail? Am I paying attention to my emotions? Am I paying attention to habits that are actually useful? The list could go on forever and it includes both internal and external states.
At its core, TOIQ can be seen as a way of bettering your taste becuase it is an active audit of your filter of attention. The more you ask yourself TOIQ, the more you will be mindful of what your taste is actually like and you will be conscious of it which allows for reflection.
TOIQ is also effective becuase it’s an active audit of just the current moment, nothing more. That’s all it asks of you. Right now, in this current moment that is happening, what am I paying attention to and is it serving me? That’s all it asks of you, just the present moment. It couldn’t be easier.
i often ask myself a different but similar question: how am I paying attention right now?
is it narrow or diffuse? objective? immersed?
so I could know what I am paying attention to but am I paying attention to it in the way that I want?
can I attend to my body and this thing? can I include more of my context?
i really enjoyed your post!
(cc open focus by les fehmi)