Dealing with Mass Distraction

Insights:

Dealing with Mass Distraction

Last week I was listening to an interview and one of the participants used the term “mass distraction.” The distractions in our lives continue to grow and vie for our focus. We all have to deal with distractions in our lives, but I had never heard them described like that: Mass distraction. 

The online Merriam Webster Dictionary defines distraction as “something that distracts; an object that directs one's attention away from something else.” Think about it - “something.”  When distraction was only “something” (just one thing), life was a lot simpler. Today, if I only had to deal with one distraction a day, I would be ecstatic. Yet, that is not my reality and it is not yours. 

That same dictionary defines “mass” this way, “a large quantity, amount, or number.” So, since Merriam Webster has not yet seen fit to add the term to the dictionary, putting the two words together gives me my definition: “mass distraction is more distractions than we can count.”

We are bombarded by social media and technology that give us constant notifications that distract us from what we are doing. Celebrities, sports, and entertainment can all be distractions. The news media distracts us by sensationalizing almost every story and then there are the constant distractions that come from the political world. 

On their own, there is usually nothing wrong with most of these distractions… UNTIL they distract us from the best things in our lives.The problem comes when these distractions take us away from what benefits us and our lives the most. When I don’t have time for my marriage, my adult children, my grandchildren, and God, the distractions have won and that is a huge red flag!

So what do we do? Take control. Unplug, turn off, and/or choose wisely. 

This year I began putting the things I do not want to be distracted from on my calendar every week. These are my priorities. They are the essentials to the life I want to live. God is there.  Nancy is there. My family is there. The activities that I enjoy are there. Does it work? Yes, because I don’t move them off of or rearrange them on my calendar. Plus, I have been much more consistent about unplugging on Sunday and at other times during the week. 

If I did not do something, mass distractions would take over my life and I decided that is not something I am going to let happen.

What distractions in your life are keeping you from the life God designed for you? What are you going to do to keep your first things first?

Next Steps:

  • Make a list of the distractions in your life. This will help you identify them. 

  • What are the essentials in your life? 

  • Rework your weekly calendar to make sure your essentials are there first.

  • Look for opportunities to unplug each week.

2 Minute Clip

Dr. Kim with Dan and Suzanne Manning “Teaching Our Kids to Protect Themselves”

Quick Hits

This Week’s Quote:   Charles Schulz

The creator of arguably the most popular comic strip of all time was born on November 22, 1922. At its height, Peanuts was published daily in 2,600 papers in 75 countries, in 21 languages. Over nearly 50 years, Schulz drew 17,897 published Peanuts strips.

  • There's a difference between a philosophy and a bumper sticker.

  • Sometimes I lie awake at night, and ask, 'Where have I gone wrong?' Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night.'

This Week’s Trivia Question:

  • What unassuming barnyard animal has the closest genetic resemblance to the long-extinct Tyrannosaurus rex?

Did You Know?  

  • Simply holding your spouse tight can boost your immune system. For one 2014 study that was published in the journal Psychological Science, participants were exposed to a common cold virus and were monitored in quarantine to assess signs of the illness. Those participants who were hugged more often and felt socially supported experienced less severe signs of the illness.

Something To Talk About Together:

  • If time travel existed, when and where would you like to visit first?

This Week’s Trivia Answer:

  • The Chicken

Kim KimberlingComment