Earlier this week, I watched a video on psychological techniques employed in marketing and advertising. One of the subjects they talked about extends well beyond the world of promotion. In fact, it's something we do in our lives quite often, sometimes to our detriment. They touched upon what is called the focusing illusion.  In a nutshell, it means that the more you think about something, the more importance you assign it. The moment you convince yourself that you're hungry, you might not want to do anything else until you've grabbed something to nosh on. And you might find yourself unable to stop thinking about an ad you saw on TV promoting the Starbucks pumpkin spice latte the night before. Moreover, we tend to see the focusing illusion in action when it comes to those things that make us excited, nervous, or sad. A couple of examples include: Not being able to take your mind off a new girl you just met Being consumed by negative thoughts as your doctor...