k_X_focusing_illusion .. k_my_adapted_jargon

Focusing_effect tends to exaggerate the importance/impact/influence of whatever comes under the /magnifying_glass/. The above description of focusing_effect is 80% similar to the Focusing_illusion defined in [[thinking, fast and slow]]. Due to the subtle differences, I don’t want to be shackled by the existing definition. However, the header keyword will continue to use the well-known focusing_illusion

The commonplace advice “focus on the positive” .. often works exactly due to the focusing_effect

— special vocab .. In many cases, without focus we simply don’t recognize something subtle, something vague.

In my blogg experience, I often needed a vocabulary [including power phrases] as a focus lens to recognize a pattern. The best-known example might be the vocab in [[thinking, fast and slow]] — rmSelf^xpSelf, System1^2. I also created my own vocab (see also blogg→ life evaluation →more satisfactionS)

— eg: the BGC title delay is no big deal until we focus on it.
eg: comparable example is Jill’s cases. Simpler because no “next step”.
In both examples, I enjoyed a carefree comfort zone until I focused on “it”.
— eg: until I became fixated on college ranking, I didn’t care so much about _MY_ UChicago/NUS branding. Now I feel this obsession is not healthy, but it has some positive effects [satisfaction, self-esteem]
— eg: self-discipline .. in kids and adults. My dad and I have superior SD. My sis had less SD. Therefore, I tend to exaggerate SD, even though SD is actually rather important to my son.
Personal initiative .. a similar story. I tend to exaggerate its importance in my son.
— eg: youth addictions … I tend to focus on tobacco, alcohol and drug. I think many Chinese parents agree on the impact, but still we tend to exaggerate the impact to some extent.
— eg: yoga .. focus on and exaggerating the importance of flexibility
— eg: (one of the earliest examples) Mark deMunk said that when he lost his front teeth, he would focus on other people’s front teeth and notice many minor defects (exaggerating)
(An even earlier example) one of my Catcha colleagues (Indonesian) experienced early hair loss in his 20s, and he joked that he now tended to focus on other men’s hair (exaggerating)

==== The opposite effect is crucial though there is no catchy phrase for it. When we don’t focus enough on something, we fail to realize how important it actually is, until much later. One example is healthy longevity. A smaller example is career longevity.

eg: perfect life.. I used this phrase at the 92S27 reunion. In 2018, I started feeling very comfortable with my carefree ezlife. Until I focused on it, I didn’t feel /blessed/. Grandpa called it 知足, a rare state of mind.