When I was a kid, I used to go to the grocery store with my father.

I recall times when we’d encounter other shoppers absentmindedly meandering through the aisles or stopped in the middle, staring at shelves.

We’d politely excuse ourselves to get by or we’d find another way around.

My dad would later advise me, “Pay attention to the world around you.”

At the time, I didn’t realize the profound value of that advice.

It’s a lesson that stuck.

It’s easy to get caught up in our own world. But the real world — the physical one that we share with others — that world changes when we take the time to pay attention to it. And it’s important that we do.