Peak Mind Book Summary

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In “Peak Mind” by Amishi Jha, you will learn how to get your attention and focus into prime shape. Many people would assume that hyperfocusing on a task at hand would be the best way to tackle it. One would assume that it would get it done in a timely manner with success because all of your attention would be on that one task. But when you’re hyperfocusing, you’re missing a lot of the big picture.

Sometimes when we are so tuned in to what’s in front of us, we lose sight of the things not in view. This can cause issues. It can even be fatal. For example, if you’re driving and you’re only looking out the front window, but neglecting your mirrors and what’s behind you, you could wind up in a serious accident while switching lanes. 

Attention is often misunderstood as being just a single event. However, attention is actually made up of three subsystems (the flashlight, the floodlight, and the juggler), and each does something unique. 

Attention: The Flashlight

Humans, by nature, are empathetic and sensitive. From memories to sensory organs such as our ears, eyes, noses, and mouths, humans can observe, examine, imagine, anticipate, and predict.

However, a huge part of being able to do all of these things with the resources we have is having the ability to control our attention. For example, paying attention to a sound in order to predict what an animal is going to do next. Optimizing our attention also allows us to distinguish what’s important and what lands at the bottom of our priority list.

Attention is all about being able to focus on certain tasks and things while pushing the others to the side, at least momentarily. The three subsystems of attention, the flashlight, the floodlight, and the juggler, are all part of this process.

The most well-known subsystem is the flashlight. Attention researchers refer to the flashlight as the orienting system. This subsystem allows you to select information in order to orient yourself. For example, this could be a professor’s facial expression, an inner dialogue, or the taste of a new recipe you’re trying in the kitchen. The flashlight subsystem describes the attention when you focus on something in order to gain clarity and more details. When you’re honing in on the flashlight subsystem, the things around it recede into the background. Just imagine shining a flashlight on something in the dark; the object you’re focusing on becomes clearer, while the things around it disappear into the dark.

As you’re reading this now, your attention is pointed here. But what about what’s around you? If you’re truly reading each line, whatever is going on outside your window or above your head is out of focus. 

It’s important to note that the flashlight can be used both internally and externally. For example, externally it may be putting together a piece of Ikea furniture, and internally it could be concentrating on a past memory.

The flashlight can be a very powerful tool, but only if you have it...

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