Lucy Jo Palladino, PhD
Welcome. For over 40 years as a career psychologist, I studied attention. Why? Because when things happen in life that we can't control, we can control where we place our attention.
In my work, I got to see how life-changing that decision can be. But often, we’re unaware the choice is ours to make. We’re the fish who, when greeted by a frog — “Hi, how’s the water?” — wonders, “What the heck is water?”
In today’s world, our precious attention has become a commodity. It’s in the hands of profit-driven entities who’ve studied attention too. Armed with algorithms and data bases, impelled by fierce competition, they steal it, right out from under our noses, and we’re none the wiser. Let’s take it back using knowledge of our own.
The first step is to understand how attention works, especially the difference between voluntary and involuntary attention, both in our actions and in our brains. The next is to apply our knowledge, jump out of the fishpond, and be free to become our best selves.
I’m retired from my practice now, but still hold the science and stories of those years. I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned with you here. Let’s outsmart attention snatchers, and reinstate attention as the personal power it’s meant to be.
Fearless Focus is my occasional blog for everyone living in the age of attention snatchers. Parentpal is for parents who want to balance their children's use of technology. The Knowledge Base is where you can find plain-language, evidence-based articles, with references, about the impact of technology on attention and the brain.
In addition, you can read or listen to excerpts from my books.
