Do you ever find yourself having to re-read the same paragraph on a book (or website or whatever) over and over again because you were distracted thinking about something else? Well, that happens to me a LOT. I am in class (on a break) right now and I swear I haven’t actually listened to a single word the teacher has said in the past hour. Only, I can’t rewind him over and over again.
I noticed this uncanny ability to tune the outside world out while I was in college. I noticed that people talking around me did not catch my attention one bit while I was watching TV or something on my computer… Even if they were talking about me! It helps when I go to sleep, actually: a band could be playing outside my door, and the noise wouldn’t faze me one bit.
Over the years I have learned to hone this skill more and more. I like to call this my internal TV. I can take myself out of any situation and transport myself to a different world at any moment. I tend to use this while I drive: I turn on NPR, which just turns into a soft murmur in the background, and I turn on my own channel to Dexter or something else I like. My brain just can’t shut off!
If you’re anything like me, I lost you three paragraphs ago. Go back to the beginning and try reading this again 🙂
Does this happen to you, too?
ina