For most of us, / when we hear the term "attention," / what we think of / is focus. // What does that actually mean? // It means that we're constraining / and narrowing / where our mental energy goes / in this very precise way. // I often use the metaphor of a flashlight / to describe this / capacity we all have. // Just like an actual flashlight or torch, / if we're in a darkened room, / wherever it is / that that flashlight is pointing, / we're gonna get crisp, / clear information. // And the beam of that flashlight is narrow. // It's prioritizing some information, / and that's because there's a brain mechanism called 'bias,' / that activates neurons representing what it is that you direct your attention toward. // But, / even if we often think / of attention / as focus, / it ends up that attention / is more than focus. // There are other systems of attention. // Another aspect / is almost the exact opposite / of a flashlight. // And I use the metaphor, here, of a floodlight. // Unlike a flashlight, whose beam is strong / and narrow / and directed, / a floodlight is broad, / diffused, / and you could say receptive. // There's nothing that you're privileging over anything else. // The floodlight / is a brain system called the 'alerting system.' // Being alert / means noticing what's going on / in this moment. // But you know you need to pay attention this broad, / diffused manner. // The floodlight really describes that experience. // And then finally, / there's a third way that we can prioritize and pay attention that actually doesn't have to do with the content / or the moment, / it has to do with our goals. // And this is something called 'Executive control.' // I like to use the metaphor of a juggler / for executive control. // You can think of it this way: / "Executives" / like the executive of the company. // The executive's job / is not to do every single task / that's required, / but it's to hold the goals in mind, / and ensure that actions / of the company, / of the individuals in the company, / and goals / are aligned. // Same idea with this juggler notion /- we're keeping all the balls in the air. / We're managing and ensuring / the coordination of the multiple, complex things / that need to be happening.