Pay attention to what you’re paying attention to

There are two modes of experience: appreciative, and evaluative.
Concrete example: let's say you're listening to a piece of music. Are you sinking into it, awash in emotions? You're in the appreciative mode.

Are you the mixing engineer, listening to the snare hits to make sure they're consistent? You're in the evaluative mode.

Much of sanity, and ha

People who like rocks see cool rocks everywhere.

People who like birds see interesting birds everywhere. The tree on your yard could be an exceptional specimen. The world around you could be amazing and magical, but you aren't enough of a nerd to see it.