you can solve a lot of problems in life before they actually become problems with two things:

attention

intention

when you pay attention to Things, you tend to notice details about them. sounds pretty simple, yeah? that’s because it is. the hard part is forcing yourself to pay attention to things that you don’t naturally or wouldn’t typically pay attention to. you might ask yourself “ok, well, if I wouldn’t naturally pay attention to it, it must not be that important.”

shut up, man, that’s such a lame and dumb argument. taxes are important and nobody pays attention to the finer details of that shit. there’s a bajillion examples and I’m not going to list them because I shouldn’t have to hold your hand through this explanation. you’d notice these things if you paid attention.

the next part is intention. when you pay attention to things, you notice the details. when you notice the details, you can take more intentional action. it’s the difference between hacking at a block of marble with a sledgehammer vs with a hammer and chisel. intention with detail leads to better results.

so that’s it. when you’re doing things out and about the world, you should be moving with a sense of attention and intention. focus on what you’re doing. not all the time! don’t be neurotic about it! that’s not what I’m saying! but like, pay attention when you’re working towards a goal or whatever. this what people often mean when they talk about “flow state” or “being locked in”.