--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It means being conscious and aware enough…" description: "\"It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience.\" — David Foster ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/david-foster-wallace-161_attention_it-means-being-conscious-and-aware-enoug_90332.jpg" --- # It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what… ![“It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience.” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/david-foster-wallace-161_attention_it-means-being-conscious-and-aware-enoug_90332.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/david-foster-wallace-161_attention_it-means-being-conscious-and-aware-enoug_90332.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/david-foster-wallace-161_attention_it-means-being-conscious-and-aware-enoug_90332.jpg) > “It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience.” [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Conscious attention is a deliberate act of shaping perception, allowing intentional meaning‑making from experience. **In simple terms:** Attention shapes reality Key Takeaway Choose what you notice Themes mindfulness agency perception meaning cognition Mood thoughtful introspective calm Type philosophical instructional When to use this quote - therapy sessions - creative brainstorming - educational curricula Key Concepts intentional focus constructivist view Practical Applications - mindfulness training - design thinking workshops Questions to Reflect On - What habits help you direct your attention? - How does selective focus alter your narrative? A Different Perspective One could argue that meaning emerges spontaneously, without conscious selection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) ## Related quotes > [Learning how to think" really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think. It means being conscious and aware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/learning-how-to-think-really-means-learning-how-to-exercise-some/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [I am me, whatever that means. I am conscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-gonzalez/i-am-me-whatever-that-means-i-am-conscious/) [Jose Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-gonzalez/) > [Man ordinarily is a robot. He lives apparently awake, but not really. He walks, he talks, he acts, but it is all as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/man-ordinarily-is-a-robot-he-lives-apparently-awake-but-not-really-he/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Meditation means how to be not a mind. How to be not a mind! Meditation means how to create the state of no-mindedness. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/meditation-means-how-to-be-not-a-mind-how-to-be-not-a-mind-meditation/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Nonviolence, in its dynamic condition means conscious suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/nonviolence-in-its-dynamic-condition-means-conscious-suffering/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [For most people on the planet, consciousness can be equated with thought. They haven't experienced what it means to be conscious without thought, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/for-most-people-on-the-planet-consciousness-can-be-equated-with/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Just what is meant by 'your word?' It means your conscious intention, your conscious direction, your conscious faith and acceptance that, because of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/just-what-is-meant-by-your-word-it-means-your-conscious-intention/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [“wasn’t sure how long I was conscious before I became aware of my surroundings. It could have”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-krebs/wasn-t-sure-how-long-i-was-conscious-before-i-became-aware-of-my/) Harry Krebs > [“Becoming conscious and aware is a journey itself, and we all struggle in that journey we call life. 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Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [People should adopt a sustainable way of life while being more conscious and aware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athiya-shetty/people-should-adopt-a-sustainable-way-of-life-while-being-more/) [Athiya Shetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athiya-shetty/) > [“This is how most people live: alive, but not conscious; conscious but not aware; aware, but intermittently.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-faulks/this-is-how-most-people-live-alive-but-not-conscious-conscious-but/) [Sebastian Faulks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-faulks/) > [Nowadays, mindfulness has become a catch-all word, but the general principle of trying to be more conscious and aware in our daily life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/nowadays-mindfulness-has-become-a-catch-all-word-but-the-general/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [“The Universe is alive, conscious, and aware.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-prentiss/the-universe-is-alive-conscious-and-aware/) [Chris Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-prentiss/) > [When you begin to become conscious, more aware, when your eyes begin to open, the first thing you see is how deluded you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/when-you-begin-to-become-conscious-more-aware-when-your-eyes-begin-to/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) ## More by David Foster Wallace > [“I felt more solidly composed, now that I was horizontal. 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If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-be-in-a-word-unborable-it-is-the-key-to-modern-life-if-you-are/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It is within your power to experience a crowded, loud, slow, consumer-hell-type situation as not only meaningful but sacred, on fire with the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-is-within-your-power-to-experience-a-crowded-loud-slow-consumer/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The happy pleasure of the person alone, yes?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-happy-pleasure-of-the-person-alone-yes/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [There is such a thing as raw, unalloyed, agendaless kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/there-is-such-a-thing-as-raw-unalloyed-agendaless-kindness/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) [Explore all 999 David Foster Wallace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. 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They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. 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And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Foster Wallace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-means-being-conscious-and-aware-enough-to-choose-what-you-pay/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-means-being-conscious-and-aware-enough-to-choose-what-you-pay/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/david-foster-wallace-161_attention_it-means-being-conscious-and-aware-enoug_90332.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/david-foster-wallace-161_attention_it-means-being-conscious-and-aware-enoug_90332.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be3/david-foster-wallace-161_attention_it-means-being-conscious-and-aware-enoug_90332.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you…” — David Foster Wallace", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Foster Wallace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It means being conscious and aware...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-means-being-conscious-and-aware-enough-to-choose-what-you-pay/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-means-being-conscious-and-aware-enough-to-choose-what-you-pay/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```