Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life » (Bargain)

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.

In Rapt, acclaimed behavioral science writer Winifred Gallagher makes the radical argument that much of the quality of your life depends not on fame or fortune, beauty or brains-or what happens to happen to you-but on what you choose to pay attention to. Rapt introduces a diverse cast of characters, from researchers to artists and ranchers, to illustrate the art of living the interested life.

The Washington Post - Paul Bloom

Gallagher devotes much of this engaging book to reviewing the psychology and neuroscience of attention. A journalist and the author of several books about human psychology…Gallagher blends the science nicely with examples of people whose disciplined attention has contributed to their success

Introduction Choosing the Focused Life 1

Chapter 1 Pay Attention: Your Life Depends on It 15

Chapter 2 Inside Out: Feelings Frame Focus 29

Chapter 3 Outside In: What You See Is What You Get 43

Chapter 4 Nature: Born to Focus 55

Chapter 5 Nurture: This Is Your Brain on Attention 67

Chapter 6 Relationships: Attending to Different Worlds 81

Chapter 7 Productivity: Work Zone 99

Chapter 8 Decisions: Focusing Illusions 115

Chapter 9 Creativity: An Eye for Detail 133

Chapter 10 Focus Interruptus 145

Chapter 11 Disordered Attention 163

Chapter 12 Motivation: Eyes on the Prize 173

Chapter 13 Health: Energy Goes Where Attention Flows 189

Chapter 14 Meaning: Attending to What Matters Most 203

Afterword 219

Acknowledgments 221

Notes and Suggested Readings 223

Index 235