How much money do you have? Got it? Picture that number under your name as the lead story in tomorrow's local newspaper. Now imagine that story going viral on social media, and people start calling you about money. They have questions.

Notice your attention moving inward thinking about that? It's like a familiar but alarming internal pressure that creates a noise in your head that pulls your attention towards it. Want that to happen again?

Think of something embarrassing you did growing up:

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Recognize that subtle jerk in your attention? You might feel a slight pressure on your nervous system, like you're being made fun of or judged. You might feel a little discomfort, tension, hesitation, anxiety, or fear.

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This is normal; this is your attention shifting inward.

Sometimes your brain thinks it needs to shield you from the situation you're in, so it shifts your attention's orientation from outward to inward to disengage you from what's happening, like a turtle retreating into its shell. You've probably felt this automatic inward recoil before high pressure situations like asking out a crush, walking into an interview, audition, or exam, or negotiating a raise.

It'll make you ask yourself questions like:

"What if they don't like me?"
"What if I fail and look foolish in public?"
"What if I ask my boss for more and get rejected?"

When your attention shifts inward, it fills your head with noise meant to disorient you with questions like, "How am I doing?" "How do I look?" "How am I fitting in?" Why does this happen? It's a reflex in your brain that evolved to stop early humans from thinking, saying, or doing things that could get them kicked out of the group. If they made a social misstep, they could get cast out to die.

Now any time you want to think, speak, or act in a way that accidentally triggers this instinctual mechanism, your brain sends you disinformation about what you're doing, how you're coming across to others, and why you're not fitting in to scare, confuse, and overthink you into retreating inward. It doesn't matter that it's the 21st century and there's no real threat to your survival; this ancient alarm is going off like it's 10,000 BC and pulling you away from outward engagement constantly.

You can observe it any time you want; just start scrolling through Instagram or TikTok. Look for the exact moment your attention shifts from outwardly seeking information/entertainment to inwardly comparing yourself to what you see on the screen. It will happen.

You will catch inward noise like:

"My life doesn't feel exciting enough"
"I need to be more successful"
"I wish I had a better body"

"How can I measure up more to the status quo so I'm less likely to get kicked out of the group?" This is the question your brain is trying to answer to "keep" you alive.

This isn't a self-esteem issue.

It's a reflex.

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It's not helping you in today's world.

It's constantly being triggered against your will, disrupting your focus, stressing you out in otherwise easy-to-handle situations, and preventing you from seeing an easy solution to this problem; you can learn to point your attention outward when you catch it shifting inward.

That's how Catch > Sort > Choose works.

Catch your attention shifting inward in situations, sort your outward orientation from your inward orientation, and choose where your attention goes next.

Your attention will send you information either direction; think of it like an antenna. When it's pointed outward, it will broadcast information about the situation you're in. It will keep you engaged. When it's pointed inward, it will broadcast information about you. You will disengage.

Imagine applying this live in a classroom.

One minute, you're focusing on what the teacher is saying; you're listening, engaging, and processing information. Your attention is outward. Then all of a sudden, the teacher calls on you and you're not sure how to respond. Your attention turns inward.

You get nervous, look around, and wonder what people will think if you say something stupid. You catch your attention shifting inward; you remember this is an ancient reflex. You actively try to sort the outward signal in the situation from the inward noise. The signal is what the teacher is saying or asking, what you do or do not have to contribute, and what your next move is. It's right there in front of you.

The inward noise is telling you that you might look dumb or foolish if you answer incorrectly, you might get in trouble if you say what you're genuinely thinking, or you might not be smart enough to be in this class. See the difference in orientation?

Once you do, you can choose where to place your attention next; toward the outward signal or toward the inward noise. It's a skill you didn't know you could develop. There is too much noise getting in the way and preventing you from seeing the signal in front of you, even right now.

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Catch > Sort > Choose.

Practicing this mental skill will help you tune out the noise and reveal more opportunities you didn't see before to spend more time focused outward in situations, especially ones that matter most to you. Imagine less noise when you're creating, working, writing, studying, presenting, dating, socializing, or doing anything throughout the day.

You're only a few exercises away from making it happen automatically.

If you practice exploring inward shifts in a playful way, it becomes easier to tune out the noise when they happen in real life. If you repeat this a few times in real situations manually, your attention will start to do it automatically. Each one of our exercises facilitates this process by breaking down a specific inward shift from real life, contrasting the outward signal from the inward noise to help you sort the difference, and showing you where your attention can go next.

Think of it like a gym for training your ability to shift your attention's orientation. You'll get one exercise per week that will help you flex this muscle for the rest of the week. You can practice as little or as much as you want on your own.

If you have strong aspirations, this will increase your situational competency and help you spend more time taking action. If you want relief from high pressure or tense situations, this will make it feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. If you just want a less stressful or noisy headspace, it's only a matter of shifting your attention from inward to outward when you catch it next.

Want your first exercise now?

Sign up below to get your intro exercise emailed to you instantly. You'll get a new one every Tuesday. After 2-3 exercises, you'll notice your attention start to Catch > Sort > Choose on its own. This will give you instant relief from inward noise, especially in high-pressure situations.

You can choose where your attention goes next:

You can point it outward and practice these exercises that will give you more control over your attention at a time it's being pulled in every direction.

Or you can point your attention inward, away from the signal in front of you. You already know how that story ends.