Listen to Your Day: The Life-Changing Practice of Paying Attention

In this accessible guide, Angone (25 Lies Twenty Somethings Need to Stop Believing), creator of millennial lifestyle platform All Groan Up, dials in on the importance of paying attention. While “every day we are given gifts of clarity,” Angone argues, “inattentional blindness” prevents people from recognizing them. The author first investigates different aspects of attention, exploring why distractions can be so irresistible, how downtime can help one focus, and ways to be present in conversations. Next, he outlines different “mindset models,” such as the “Monk Model,” which centers quiet as a way to access inner wisdom (“Choosing silence is choosing to pay attention to your soul”), and the “Entrepreneur Model,” which advises actively attuning to one’s problems in order to find creative solutions. As well, the author writes, improving one’s attention can engender a closer relationship with God (“If our ears are constantly filled with noise...how can we hear His voice?”). Communication tips (make eye contact, avoid self-talk for the first five minutes of a conversation) and prioritization strategies (consider important relationships and “one action you can take this week to pay more attention to each”) round things out. Angone’s encouraging attitude is infectious, and the advice, while not revolutionary, is solid. Readers will appreciate this down-to-earth entry. (Apr.)