Can Distractions be Both Good and Bad?

 

Distractions can be pretty unavoidable.  They can also be both detrimental and helpful.  Recognizing the good distractions from the bad is important.

I often joke that I suffer ADOS – Attention Deficit Ooooooooooooo, Shiny Disorder.  This is borne of my attention being drawn away from one focus to another, sometimes really easily.

Distractions come in many forms.  Some are, without a doubt, good.  But more often than not, I find them to be bad.

Bad distractions, for me at any rate, come in two different forms.  These include inattention in the now, and self-sabotage.

Inattention in the now distractions

These distractions happen because I am letting my mind wander. Rather than be in the here-and-now, the mind wanders to the past or the future.

It is far too easy to think about past actions, good and bad, rather than to be in the now.  Recalling actions that we may or may not have taken can really pull us away.

It is important to note that I am in no way advocating for forgetting the past.  Quite the opposite, we need to learn from our past, if we desire to grow as individuals.  Denying the past or pretending it didn’t happen is not an option, despite current events.

Because we strive to make change and reach goals, it is equally easy to get lost in future thoughts.  For example, I am going to desire to replace my car.  So long as I am looking ahead at this possibility, it’s going to remain ahead.  In especial if I am awaiting certain external factors over which I have no control.

Both of these distractions cause my mind to wander from being here and now.  As Einstein pointed out, time is an illusion.  As such, the only time that is real is this moment, right here, right now.  Thus, it is in this moment we need to be focused to accomplish growth.

Consciousness creates reality.  To truly utilize this, and align my thoughts, feelings and intentional actions, I need to be working in the now. The past cannot be changed, and as Yoda said, “Always in motion is the future.”  While what we do can have an impact on the future, we can accomplish far more by keeping our attention in the now.

A wandering mind easily loses focus.

Self-sabotage distractions

I have a particular talent for sabotaging myself.  I have written about this many times in the past, but it is rooted in some old, deep fears.  The fear is primal: the fear of abandonment.  Succeed, fail, do amazing or screw-up royally, I will be abandoned.  The fear that nobody will be there for me, nobody will care is powerful, painful, and scary.

This is a completely irrational fear.  Despite that knowledge, I still find this hard to shake.  As such, because I am afraid, I will find distractions to avoid getting where I desire to go in this life.

When I should be writing or editing, whether it’s my blog or fiction, I let the internet distract me.  Facebook, Google Plus, e mail and other online distractions draw me away from doing work, and instead I goof off.

Then, when I realize that I have done this, I get annoyed with myself.  This leads to feeling bad…and consciousness creates reality, so it draws me away from manifesting what I have sought to do.

Rather than experience the unfamiliar, potentially awesome or awful, I sabotage myself, stay in the place where I have comfort, but desire for greater.  This comfort zone is familiar, sure…but it is not where I wish to remain.

This is an ongoing struggle for me.  I greatly desire to make changes in my life. There is more that I am capable of accomplishing in this life, and I desire to make it happen.  So, I need to work on being more present here-and-now, and not letting myself sabotage myself with distractions.

There are good distractions

Sometimes we need good distractions.  When we are under a tremendous amount of stress, or suffering from anxiety or depression, we can make use of distractions to shake up our moods.

It’s easy to identify good distractions from bad.  Bad distractions pull us out of the here-and-now, by either drawing us to the past, the future, or creating an environment for the mind to wander without focus.  Good distractions, however, bring us into the now.  They get us out of the negative and create positivity, so that we can be centered and balanced.

Because it is impossible not to have bad days, and to experience negativity, all we can do is work to overcome the bad.  It will happen, it is unavoidable – but you and I can choose how long we will hold onto it, and let it effect our lives.

Recognizing bad distractions from good can help us be focused more in the now.  When we live in the now, we are more capable of manifesting the lives we want.  Yes, it is seldom easy…but I know I prefer a life that I have created from my own desires over just accepting mediocrity.

What distractions do you experience?

This is the three-hundred fifty-third entry in my series. These weekly posts are ideas for, and my personal experiences with, walking along the path of life.  I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world along the way, and empower myself and my readers with conscious reality creation.

Thank you for joining me.  Feel free to re-blog and share.

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