World perception influencing thought process
Various ways through which individuals perceive the world around them do influence their thoughts. According to Weiten (2008), people perceive the world as either hostile or friendly and these perceptions are directly linked to the existing social situations, individual experiences, and social ethos. For instance, an individual who has ever and experienced family life that is normally quite often develops a positive sense of self.
They tend to understand that the world has its dangers and as a result, they are in a position to perceive the world’s opportunities and beauty and consequently think positively. However, individuals who live in a hostile environment that is characterized by erratic and dysfunctional behavior perceive the world as hostile and as a result, develop both negative thoughts and resistant patterns in their daily lives.
Moreover, social ethos and personal experiences play a great role in the development of either negative or positive thought processes. An individual’s ability to establish relationships is a key factor bearing in mind that thought processes form the driving force. Nonetheless, in cases where social ethos indicates a lack of compassion or civility in social relations, these thoughts or feelings of being rejected begins to show up as a result of actual suppression and authentic projection of one’s self.
On the other hand, the perception of being accepted by peers is directly related to existing freedom of expression and being accepted by other people. Therefore, if the perception of the world makes one think that winning is linked to financial achievements than character success, then individuals are likely to have precarious thoughts in achieving success.
Barriers to allocating attention and strategies to avoid distraction
Factors preventing allocating attention
There is a myriad of factors that prevent people from paying attention to the way they should. According to Weiten (2008), stress interferes with the attention span of an individual since it affects both the physical and mental well-being of a person. Stress results in anxiety, irritability in addition to impacting negatively on one’s ability to concentrate. Therefore, individuals who are inattentive due to stress should meditate, exercise, and breathe deeply. Additionally, they can seek professional medical help.
Attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) is one of the factors that prevent one from allocating attention the way they intend to. However, most adults and children are either misdiagnosed or undiagnosed and as a result, they end up losing attention in the middle of a task. Other symptoms of ADHD include distractibility and inability to perform certain simple tasks and therefore they develop poor memory and listening skills. Individuals who experience such symptoms should seek help from professionals who can diagnose ADHD. This will enable these professionals to establish the best strategy for curing these symptoms either through mediation or exercise.
Strategies for avoiding distractions
Lack of adequate sleep makes individuals develop fatigue and this results in an inability to pay attention to tasks. Therefore, an average adult should sleep for about 7 to 8 hours in order to be attentive and active during the day. Another helpful strategy is taking enough breaks in order to decongest the brain.
Attention as a limited resource
Attention is a limited resource bearing in mind that human beings are only in a position to attend to limited tasks at any given time. Therefore, for each additional task, attention tends to decrease. For instance, a person who is teaching while talking on the telephone reduces attention since he or she will divert concentration from one activity to both teachings and talking on the phone.
Reference
Weiten, W. (2008). Psychology: Themes & Variations. Belmont: Wadsworth.