The attention span of the human brain is limited.

In fact, neuroscience research shows that our five senses are subjected to about 11,000,000 pieces of information per second… while our brain can only consciously process about 40 pieces of information per second. (Wilson, 2022)

If your attention is distracted by your environment or, on the contrary, is captivated by your thoughts, or your emotions or by the stress you are feeling, then you may be blind to what is happening in and around you. If you are missing certain cues, your ability to understand what is really going on and adjust is less than optimal.