Look away
How did we get here?
Everyone has heard that looking directly at the sun will damage your sight. A quick glance happens now and then, typically when trying to discover what the weather looks like. Humans like to go out on sunnier days and have fun times. Cloudy days give us a little pause. Rain generally makes us want to stay inside and snow is only fun when it meets our criteria of playability. Minus points if it requires us to shovel it. Animals tend to like going outside in good weather to run around. Some children mind inclement temperatures more than others. Humans are so fragile and diverse. There doesn’t seem to be an increase in tolerance to poor environments that match the amount of time humans have been levelling up. Looking a little closer in makes it easier to discover what is really distracting us from completing tasks. Even ones that we really, really want to get done. Whatever finds its way into my hands can be counted on to attract my attention. Sometimes it is just my hands that do that also, but those are shorter states of staring. Everyone likes to blame devices these days but if you really go back in time, quill pens were probably annoying as hell. When I want to eliminate interference with what I am really supposed to be focusing on, I try and trick myself by counterintuitively concentrating on the object of my interest. I used to do this with my earliest boyfriends to determine why I was swooning over them two weeks ago but suddenly can’t abide them. Two weeks seems like plenty of time to figure those things out when you are a teenager. Closer inspections work well in the military but the first soldier in line doesn’t get the same scrutiny as the next few. Humans like to get started with distractions before chucking them aside. If you have made it this far, thanks for not getting distracted.
Take Five
Each week this year, read through the suggestions and see how they call out to you.
- What way can you ignore what is right in front of you?
- How much pressure do you put on yourself to limit your distractable time?
- How do you feel when someone doesn’t pay attention to you?
- What rationalization can you create to explain how bored you get?
- Do you spend enough time distracted by just you?
Come back each day to see if something changes about the effect of an activity. Repeat choices to identify different thoughts. You are not the same person every day. Your life shouldn’t be either.
Live Alive
