Don’t Get Distracted

I recently went to see my granddaughter play her first soccer game. It was a lot of fun to see a group of 4-year-olds running around the field with only a brief interest in soccer. There’s just so much to do out there.

My father used to tell me a story about a farmer who needed to fix his fence. He goes to the barn to get his tools and there he sees the barn door needs repainting. “I’ll just paint that real quick,” he thinks and goes in to get some paint. While there he sees that his tool bench needs to be reorganized, so he starts on that, but first, he has to move the ladder. That broken rung on the ladder catches his eye and he remembers that he needs to get a new one. On his way to the hardware store, he realizes it’s lunchtime so he stops off at the diner for a bite. Coming out of the diner he wonders, “now what was I going to do today?”

It’s wonderful to have the curiosity and energy of a child, but, as an adult, we want to avoid a childlike attention span. Children often get distracted from their original intent, but so do adults.

Several years ago I had a goal to start my own web design business. One of my early clients couldn’t afford to pay me (if you’ve ever started a business, you know you take some creative payment methods when you first start) so they offered me a commission on anything sold through the website I had created for them. As it turned out all of the company’s sales came through the website, and they soon offered me a partnership in the business.

Remember my goal of starting my web design business? Neither did I.

I was distracted by the excitement of getting involved in a new business, even if it wasn’t the one I had intended. Soon, however, I was more enthused about the travel, the business dinners, meeting clients, and the idea of having a business, than I was in the success of the business itself. The distraction clouded my judgment and I made some bad decisions. Some bad financial decisions. Some bad time management decisions. Some bad moral decisions. I chose a path that ended up contributing to the failure of the business, and I almost lost my family in the process.

There’s a Proverb that talks about distractions that lead to our own destruction. Take a moment to read Proverbs 7. It’s generally about moral distractions, but it can be applied to any situation where we are distracted from where we should or want to be going.

“With her [“her” being the distraction] many persuasions she entices him; With her flattering lips, she seduces him. Suddenly he follows her As an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool,”
??Proverbs? ?7:21-22? ?NASB??

I found myself far from the web design business I had started. I was far from my family. Far from my responsibilities at church and disengaged from my regular job of being a teacher. I learned how far and how quickly a few choices can move us away from our original objective.

I am fortunate to have a support system that helped me to recover. With a lot of grace from God, and from my family, I was able to focus on new goals and rebuild the trust that was lost.

I think we can all agree that something that leads us away from our purpose or goal is a distraction. Further, anything that does not lead us toward our purpose or goal is a distraction. Because time always marches on, if we are not making progress, we are falling behind. I’m not talking about falling behind others. I’m talking about falling behind our own intended progress. Even if it seems like a good idea, if something doesn’t move us closer to our objective, it’s a distraction. Along the way I learned how to recognize and avoid distractions that take us away from the path we are trying to follow. Sometimes I’m successful at it.

Here are three ways you can avoid distractions:

1. Dream big! But if you want it to come true, set a Goal. Set specific, measurable, reasonable goals. Make a plan and execute it to achieve that goal.
   • You may have heard that an unwritten goal is only a wish. If you really want to accomplish something, write it down, make a plan, and stick to the plan. Don’t let anything get in the way.
   • Goals have to be specific, or distraction is built into them before we even get started.
   • Goals have to be measurable. We must be able to tell if we are making progress. Are we closer to our objective than we were yesterday?
   • Goals must be reasonable. If our goals are not obtainable in a reasonable amount of time, we will get discouraged.
2. Make the decision to avoid distractions ahead of time.  Any decision should be questioned: Does it move you closer to, or further from, your goal. Base all of your decisions on your goal.
   • Often, a seemingly good idea comes along and we get caught up in that and don’t even realize we are being distracted from our original intent.
   • In a moment of inspiration, stop and ask “does this move me toward my objective, or is it just a cool idea that may take up too much of my time, energy, and resources?”
   • Avoid Rabbit holes- have you ever been stuck going down an internet rabbit hole? I know I have. I’ll click on a news story, an article, or a video and find the next one even more interesting… and then another, and another… pretty soon I’ve spent 45 minutes reading or watching videos and I’ve got nothing to show for it. The same is true for any distraction. “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest – Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man.” Proverbs 9
3. Learn to say “NO.” Be able to say “no” to anything that doesn’t move you the right direction.
   • It may be a great cause. It may be a wonderful idea. It may be a worthwhile endeavor. If it takes you away from moving toward your goal, say “NO.” Nehemiah was sent by God and king to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. As he was working, many people had the motivation to stop him, but he responded to their attempts in the same way: “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.” Don’t come down from your great work.
   • Being able to turn some projects or tasks down in order to focus on the most important will allow you to stay focused and directed toward your goal.

If we are able to set goals, decide ahead of time to avoid distractions, and we are willing to say “no” to things that do not move us in the right direction, we will be much more likely to stay on course and reach our goals.

When we do get distracted, and we all do, here are three things that can help you recover and get back on the path to success:

1. Assess your situation and check your progress against your goal often. The sooner we realize and admit that we are off track, the better and easier our recovery will be.
2. Get help… guidance… advice… counseling… mentoring. You do not have to go through this alone. Get a coach or a mentor to help weed through the details. I have people in different areas of my life who serve as accountability partners. People who I trust to call me out if I stray off. I also have a coach that I check in with monthly for, well, coaching.
3. Seek God’s direction. He has a plan to prosper you. His plan is better than your plan. Talk to Him daily about your purpose and your goals.

Truth be told, sometimes a reprieve is a good thing. We can take a break and get back to our work with renewed vigor and enthusiasm. There is a difference between a distraction and a vacation. Vacation is good. Distraction is not.

Finally, don’t be afraid to change your plans or goals. Sometimes the original plan leads us to a better one. We can change our minds. Change our direction. Match our plan to what God has in store for us. There are many times that we think we are heading towards one thing when God has us going that direction only because it takes us closer to something we can’t even see yet. When a door closes we need to learn to recognize that and look around for the newly opened one. It will be there. Then we reset our goals and focus clearly on our new direction.