Distractions: The Enemy of the Soul and the Goal

I spent 17 years working with students who got very easily distracted.  The fly on the ceiling, my shiny bracelet, the noise in the hall, the rumble of their stomach.  You name it, it was all a huge distraction.

As adults our distractions are no different.  They just appear more sophisticated.  What keeps you from meeting your deadlines at work?

Some distractions can’t be helped.  The phone rings off the hook or people stop by unexpected.  You can’t concentrate because you didn’t sleep well the night before.  Too many things to do all at once.

Remember the very nature of the word distraction, implies something that takes away from our actions.  Our actions are what give us power in our lives.

If the phone and constant interruptions are keeping you from making a deadline consider hanging a sign on your door for just an afternoon that states,”Enter at Your Own Risk, Life Threatening Situations Only.”  We can’t do everything and sometimes distractions have to be weeded out.

Perhaps you will need to go to another location to finish a particular project.  A private conference room in your building, the library or work from home that day.

Sometimes we create distractions for ourselves in the form of procrastination.  We keep putting it off.  True distractions are the enemy of the man’s soul.

Consider the donuts in the office to the dieter.  Dripping with chocolate icing and oozing with cream filling, all covered in colorful sprinkles.  Very tempting on the outside.  But consider the cost to your diet- 400 calories and maybe 35 g of fat.  Depleting you of energy to reach your long-term goal.  Is it worth a few moments of pleasure?  It detracts from you reaching your goal sooner.

Anything that wastes our time or keeps us from reaching our goals sooner is a distraction.  Have you stopped to consider a pattern.  You may be stuck in a rut with the same distractions on your plate all the time.

Consider your plate in life as more full and rich if you knock off the powerful distractions and reach your goals sooner.  Lets talk about goal setting and finishing what we start by mastering our distractions.