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Product Description
Book Description
A revolutionary look at how what we pay attention to determines how we experience life
Acclaimed behavioral science writer Winifred Gallagher's Rapt makes the radical argument that much of the quality of your life depends not on fame or fortune, beauty or brains, fate or coincidence, but on what you choose to pay attention to. Rapt introduces a diverse cast of characters, from researchers to artists to ranchers, to illustrate the art of living the interested life. As their stories show, by focusing on the most positive and productive elements of any situation, you can shape your inner experience and expand your world. By learning to focus, you can improve your concentration, broaden your inner horizons, and most important, feel what it means to be fully alive.
Acclaimed behavioral science writer Winifred Gallagher's Rapt makes the radical argument that much of the quality of your life depends not on fame or fortune, beauty or brains, fate or coincidence, but on what you choose to pay attention to. Rapt introduces a diverse cast of characters, from researchers to artists to ranchers, to illustrate the art of living the interested life. As their stories show, by focusing on the most positive and productive elements of any situation, you can shape your inner experience and expand your world. By learning to focus, you can improve your concentration, broaden your inner horizons, and most important, feel what it means to be fully alive.
About the Author
Winifred Gallagher’s books include House Thinking, Just the Way You Are (a New York Times Notable Book), Working on God, and The Power of Place. She has written for numerous publications, such as Atlantic Monthly, Rolling Stone, and the New York Times. She lives in Manhattan, and Dubois, Wyoming.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deserves your full attention,
By
This review is from: Rapt.new (Hardcover)
Gallagher set out on a personal project to understand attention more deeply following a significant medical crisis in her own life. In doing so, she brought to bear her substantial capacity to synthesize complex subject matter that would be otherwise inaccessible to most of us and pass on to others what she has learned in a way which is readily understandable. In doing so, she has provided a valuable service.Included in her coverage are the substantial recent advancements in a wide range of literature addressing creativity, mindfulness, neuroscience and decision-making. She explains the relevance of this new understanding for ADD, work, relationships, health and even the quest for our life's meaning. Gallagher contrasts the top down attention that focuses on what is the most obvious direction we might focus our attention, a passive response, with the bottom-up attention that addresses whatever subject matter that we consciously choose as the object of our concentration. Drawing extensively from the work of Csikszentmihalyi (author of Flow and other significant books), she discusses how choosing "activities that push us so close to the edge of our competence that they demand our absolute focus", and are able to determine the quality of our lives. If you need a reason to exchange the flotsam and jetsam of a typical evening of TV programming for the focused life by learning a new language or engaging in "deliberate practice" to acquire the skills listed in the job posting for that job you've been dreaming about, I don't know a better place to begin. Gallagher has provided a readable but thorough summary that is a "must read" for anyone looking to make a serious commitment to personal growth, however defined.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
kept MY attention,
By
This review is from: Rapt.new (Hardcover)
Interesting read with a thorough explanation of how and why we pay attention and with advise on how to improve your 'raptness'. Not overly scientific but has interesting stories about how the ability to pay rapt attention to a job/technique can allow a person to become successful at any life skill, be it music, sports or whatever. Inspiring, the book reveals much about our own ability to focus while giving anecdotes about those who excel in their fields as a result of practicing with intense attention.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rapt,
This review is from: Rapt.new (Hardcover)
I liked this book as a guide to outline what happens in one's own personal dialogue. Thought patterns addressed objectively by a thoughtful author. The ability to narrow down subjects, to focus, to daydream are all things we live with but seldom seek to understand. I found this valuable in the sense of becoming task oriented when required and validating the seemingly aimlessness of daydreaming. A good read to understand basic drives.
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