Random thoughts bring random focus; intentional thoughts bring intentional focus.
Your attention- that which is being focused- is a scarce resource. We spend attention over the course of our day. In social interactions, attention takes on some aspects of a currency. It starts to look and feel like a store of value, and a medium of exchange.
“A fool and his money are soon parted”, says the proverb. Said another way, “a fool and his attention are soon parted.”
We may routinely squander our attention unintentionally. When we do that we receive little or nothing, per unit of attention spent.
We may “squander” or “leak” or “burn” some of our attention on purpose, for example, to relax. The fundamental difference here is the intention to do so.
When we intentionally choose to focus our attention on this or that, we receive more and more, per unit of attention spent. If we do this for awhile, we figure out that there is a clear “return on attention” that can be outlandishly positive. Over time, we can experience at least the potential to do more and more, with less and less, as we “pay” attention.
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Related Link:
Attention Economy (link)