Maybe its a movie.
Maybe its a board game.
Maybe its a new gadget.
Maybe its a book.
Whatever that thing is, something about it sucks in my attention.
This post originally appeared onThe Simple Dollar.
Ill think about it as I go through my day.
When my mind wanders, often its that book or that game that slips right into my conscious thought.
The more I do this, the more strongly I feel about that item.
This book would literally change how I think about the world.
This gadget would completely alter how efficiently I can work and get things done.
Ill notice more and more people having that item or similar items.
Ill find more and more offhand references to that item in the things I see and do.
I become more and more convinced that Imusthave this item.
More often than Id like, all of that winds up with a purchase.
A few days or a week later, the whole cycle starts again with something new.
This is something calledattentional biasat work.
As you could imagine, this doesnt just pop up in our desire to buy things or own things.
It pops up in things like our political beliefs, our intellectual interests, and so on.
Ill give you another example using my hobby of playing board games.
I might read about a particular board game online that sounds interesting.
In my head, Ill imagine playing it with my game group.
If the description is particularly interesting, my thoughts about the game will be very positive.
Another example: I have a friend who is obsessed with playing his guitar.
He has spent absurd amounts of money on various instruments and various items to accompany those instruments.
He perceives thesegiantdifferences between different guitars and different strings.
Think about your own life.
Have you ever fallen prey to attentional bias?
Think about some of the things youve wanted the most in your life.
Did you exaggerate the positive traits of that thing completely out of proportion?
Thats the challenge of attentional bias, andit crops up more often than you think.
Here are some ways to do just that.
Ask what they think, but try not to load the question.
Seek out their unvarnished opinion on whatever it is youre considering doing or buying.
Find someone who is casually interested in the item youre talking about.
For example, I often use my wife for these things.
In particular, I look for negative reviews and criticism of that item.
In what areas is this product not up to snuff?
Thus, when the thirty days are up, it becomes pretty easy to say no to that item.
Time is one of the most effective responses to attentional bias.
Ill spend some days hiking.
Ill doanythingother than touching on that area of interest that has driven me to obsess over that one purchase.
Almost always, intentional focus on those other areas of life quickly causes my attentional bias to cool off.
How much time do I really spend watching movies or playing video games or reading books?
Now, how much time can I free up for this new purchase?
It will take away from the time spent on the things I already have.
I have board games I havent played nearly enough to explore the strategic corners.
I have movies that have only been watched once or havent been watched at all.
I have several unread books and a library full of more unread books.
Its a great little trick to use to talk yourself out of all kinds of purchases.
You might choose to write about it in your pocket notebook or your journal.
By simply doingsomethingabout it, you could create a sense of relief from all of that focus.
You did something, so thats often enough.
I personally like the Amazon wish list strategy myself.
Ill put stuff on there and, quite often, my desire for that item fades very quickly.
I dont simply lock into one thing and become obsessed with it.
It provides something of a subconscious safeguard against falling into the trap of attentional bias.
If you want to give focused meditation a shot, I recommend starting atCalm.com.
It works on almost any gadget and provides great guided meditation for focusing.
Final Thoughts
All of these strategies serve one purpose: they help fight against attentional bias.
Attentional bias is something that happens to all of us.
They really help in combating one of the primary ingredients in that recipe for overspending.
If I had to suggest one tactic above all the others, try focused meditation.
Image adapted fromMechanikandMerfin(Shutterstock).
