This piece has really got me thinking.  The idea that we're too passive in the face of things that want to claim our attention is an important one.  Here's a trick they offer, to get you to gain some more control over the direction of your mind:

"Record 10 metaphor-free observations about the world this week. This is deceptively simplistic: Who couldn’t look at 10 things this week and write them down? The trick is the no metaphors hook. You’re just noticing, not comparing, analyzing or referencing. You’re forced to slow down and truly contemplate the world around you, rather than passively breezing through it.  Remember: It’s looking vs. seeing. Hearing vs. listening. Accepting what the world presents vs. noticing what matters to you." 

I'm struck by how much this is akin to ancient practices of mental focus and mindfulness.  Monastic disciplines of attention (Christian and Tibetan, for instance), and pre-Christian conceptions of thinking, all directed serious energy towards training minds to focus on what they should be focused on.  It may have escaped your direct attention, but the sculpting of attention is hugely important in the modern economy, as well; we call it "advertising", but it's much more than that.  Just another way in which the modern condition may have something to learn from historical sources.