Why You Get Distracted

If you don't want distractions to keep you from your goals, then make your goals more urgent.


It looks like the one advantage that God has given to animals that he didn't give to humans is the ability to not get distracted! We humans take notice of the smallest details around us and get distracted. Animals? Heck no! If they have a task to do, they do it without wondering about anything else.


Think about fire ants. You decide to be mean and kick down their ant pile. What do the fire ants do? Well, they don't curse at you, they don't stand around crying about what you've done to their home, and they don't worry about whether or not the damage is a sign of some impending doom. They get to work to start rebuilding their home! They don't let the destruction of their home distract them. They have a queen and a bunch of eggs to protect!


Now think about that. Your home has been torn apart and yet you get to work right away on rebuilding that home. You're not thinking about all the damage done. You're just focused on building it back up again. 


See, when a task is urgent, then distractions have little power over you. However, when the task isn't all that important, then you could be distracted by the smallest things!


Everybody wants to accomplish something great. Very few will. Why? Because what you want to accomplish doesn't have much priority in your life. 

• Yeah, you want to lose the weight, but it's not too important. 
  
• Yes, you want to make more money, but it's not that important. 
  
• Yes, you want to have children, but it's not that important. 
  
• Yes, you want to have a better attitude, but it's not that important.
  

And since the task is not that important, how much effort would you put into completing that task? Not much! And if the task isn't all that important, how easy would it be to distract you? Very easy!


One time, I was working with a very obese client online. When her mother broke her foot, she was so occupied in taking care of her mother that she didn't do any of the assigned exercises. What's worst is that the assigned exercises could have been completed in 10 minutes or less!


Yes, I understand that you want to take care of your mother. But she just broke her foot. Were you so busy that you couldn't find 10 minutes during the day to do exercises? It wasn't that she didn't have any time. The task of losing weight wasn't all that important, so any little thing could easily distract her.


Think about a moment when a task was so important that nothing in the world could distract you. 


When you're about to be late for work, you could drive so fast that you could get to work in 15 minutes -- when it should have taken you 30 minutes! You were so focused on that task that nothing, not even the fear of getting pulled over, could stop you from completing the task.


Maybe one time you lost your child in a store. When you were looking for your kid, did you stop to check out any sales? "Jamie? Jamie? Jamie??? Jamie, where are...ooooh, is that shirt really half off?" Heck no! You searched frantically all over the place until you find your kid hiding out somewhere. And after you kiss and hug your child, you give them a big spanking in front of everybody!


Maybe you've lost something in your house that's very valuable, like money. Maybe you've lost a 100-dollar bill. Did you simply look under the couch and  got distracted with a good book that you haven't read in ages? No! You nearly tore that house apart almost to the point where you were considering jack-hammering the floor!


When something is absolutely important to you, you will go after it and no amount of distractions would stop you.


There is even a Bible passage talking about this subject. One time, Jesus gave a parable about a man who lost one sheep and left the other 99 sheep behind just to find that one lost sheep. Then when he found that sheep, he told all his friends and had them rejoice with them. It's just ONE sheep! He had 99 more! But that one sheep was so important that he was willing to leave the other sheep behind, perhaps defenseless, so he could get that one sheep.


So, how important is your task? Is it important enough where you're willing to move heaven and earth to get it, or is it a task that you could live without?


If you're wondering why you haven't accomplished certain things in life, maybe it's because those things aren't that important. Want to know how you could tell if something is important? Look in the mirror. Look at your bank account. Look at your lifestyle. See where you are in life and HOW long you've been there. 

• Are you still struggling with the same addictions? Then it's not that important to change.
  
• Are you still being critical of your spouse and/or kids? Then it's not important for you to change.
  
• Are you still in poverty despite all the opportunities you have to get more wealth? Then it's not that important to change.
  
• Still overweight? Changing is not that important.
  
• Still have a bad attitude. Changing is not that important.
  
• Cheated on your spouse yet again? Then being a faithful spouse isn't important.
  

So, how bad do you really want something? If anything could distract you from your goals, then what you want isn't all that important. However, if nothing could distract you, then expect to meet your goals in no time!


It's not about staying focus. It's about increasing the urgency of your task. The more urgent it is, the more likely you will complete it. 

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