# Chapter 252

There are always multiple conversations going on, there is the conversation that is constantly going on inside your head, and around here there are likely two or more conversations going on in the room you find yourself in and that makes for a lot of conversations! Our attention capacity is rather static and bounded and this creates continual triage challenges for us in how we divide it and use it. Unfortunately we can’t listen to these 3-4 conversations at the same time with an equal focus. On the other hand this is probably good. Regardless it just is. You have practically unlimited conversations going on and limited capacity to hear them. For instance I am writing this in public, but the conversations around me range from the tomatoes going bad to how much his arthritis is bothering him today and these conversations are happening while I am writing. Where do you think my attention lies?

Attention triage has to happen all the time in other areas as well. For this reason you need to know what you value and what you are determined to accomplish in your life so that you can divide that attention appropriately. Otherwise, when you find that the squeaky wheel is the one always getting the attention you can understand that something other than your values is driving your life. This is not something you want to continue to happen because only the loud gets done and not the important. You and this world need the important things to get done, not just the loud.