Distractions are part of our life.
geralt / Pixabay – Choose your distractions wisely and learn from them.

Have you abandoned your New Year’s resolutions? It’s nearly the end of January and there are still eleven months left this year. We start out each year with great intentions. We are even successful for a short while. Then, life gets in the way. There are distractions that interfere with our daily plans. I used to say, “Choose your distractions wisely.” I included that phrase on many blogs over the years.

Yet, is it the distraction you should avoid? Several years ago, I heard a homily that talked about letting those little distractions into my life – to learn from them. What can I learn from a distraction?

We can learn to quickly evaluate each temporary perturbation to our time-life continuum. If it is important, then we accept that deviation for our daily plan and allow time for it. Yet, it seems everything is important that flows in our direction. However, maybe the key point in this discussion is the importance of the resolution you want to achieve in 2017?

Did you set priorities with each resolution? Was the reason for having that goal valuable to you? Let’s take the perennial resolution of losing weight. Every time you fail at achieving weight loss, the more persistent your subconscious mind will be to see that you fail again in the future.

Maybe the key to selecting your new target for 2017 is the way you phrased it. Instead of wanting to lose weight, maybe it should reword it to eat healthier. Incrementally, if you can eat healthier each day, you might achieve the goal of losing weight. Worst case, you might retain your weight and still be healthier.

A friend of mine just wrote a book about allowing toxins (small amounts) into your body periodically so that your body can adapt and be stronger. The same applies to distractions. The more we understand and acknowledge the potential disruption of our moment, the better we can become at seeing it for what it really is – a temporary interruption that may, or may not, be set aside. We don’t just jump at it because it’s there.

Similarly, take the case of a phone ringing. How many people do you know who absolutely must answer a phone the instant it rings. We can see who is calling (in most cases) and we have the technology to allow the caller to record a message.

Choose your distractions wisely, but learn from the also.

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