By Jeff Copper, MBA, PCC, PCAC, CPCC, ACG – July 13, 2026
When most people talk about attention, they assume it’s about what you’re focusing on. But according to ADHD and attention coach Jeff Copper, that assumption misses the point entirely. On Attention Talk Video, we invite you to rethink attention itself—and why misunderstanding it causes so much confusion, especially around ADHD.
Let’s explain attention by using a simple but powerful metaphor: Attention is like a flashlight. The object you see, your keys on the floor, for example, is not the light itself. The light is what’s shining through the air from the flashlight. In the same way, attention isn’t the object you’re focused on; it’s the internal process directing your focus. And here’s the catch: only you can see where your flashlight is pointed.
Because we can’t see our own attention directly… or anyone else’s… we rely on external evidence to decide whether we’re paying attention “correctly.” If we get the result we want, we assume our attention must be right. What we rarely notice is what we missed along the way. This blind spot plays a major role in misunderstandings between people, particularly when different brains process information differently.
Taking the idea further with a thought experiment: Imagine trying to describe the color blue to someone who has been blind their entire life. Where would you even start? There’s no shared reference point. Yet in everyday life, we often assume everyone sees the same “blue” we do… whether that blue represents organization, time management, or focus.
This assumption creates real challenges for people with ADHD. As we share from our coaching experience, many individuals with ADHD are organized and do have time management systems, but they don’t always look like what others expect. When neurotypical standards become the only measure, those differences are easily overlooked or dismissed.
The core message of this post is an invitation to self-observe and to question our assumptions. Attention is deeply personal, shaped by brain wiring, life experiences, and belief systems. What seems obvious to one person may be completely invisible to another.
By learning to recognize that attention works differently for different people, we open the door to greater understanding, compassion, and more effective support, especially for those with ADHD. Check out the video, Is ADHD Like Describing the Color Blue to a Blind Man?