How to Avoid Distractions

Oh, our blessed distractions!
Tuesday afternoon’s deadline came and went without meeting my #1 goal. Again.
Frustration and disappointment set in. Again.
Projects, some very near and dear to my heart, keep being delayed. What am I doing wrong?

I keep hearing the success gurus mantra…
You can’t do the big things if you’re distracted by the small things!
So, I determine to focus on eliminating what keeps getting in my way.
Except there’s a problem. People. Relationships. That’s what’s getting in my way.
People I love. People I want to be there for. Yet projects are important too.
Goals set right get you closer to your destiny. I don’t want to water that down, and to
accomplish those goals, boundaries are required. Boundaries that remove distractions and attract concentration. I know that. We know that. What we don’t always know is whether an interruption in plans is a distraction or a need, especially when that interruption involves people.

So I focus deeper, asking two serious, almost sacred, questions.

First: What are the big things vs. the little things?
For me, it comes down to this. The big things are three-fold:

• Things God told me to do
• Relationships
• Passions God stirred up in my heart

Everything else is a little thing.

Second question: What is a distraction vs. a need?
I have found that distractions pull me away from the big things, while needs pull me toward them. Distractions pull me away from what I have determined as big, and toward something I have determined as small. Needs pull me toward what I have determined as another big, and only temporarily away from the current big.

So yes, Tuesday afternoon’s deadline came and went without meeting my #1 goal. Again.
But, in the process I realized my #1 goal wasn’t #1 for that moment. Relationship was.

Getting clarity on how we can care well for both our relationships and what we are called to do can be tricky. What is big? We must define that. What is small? That needs defined, too. Then we juggle the big as best we can with humble hearts and listening prayers.

What are your big things vs. little things?
How do you determine a distraction vs. a need?
I would love to hear!

Brenda Cox Harkins is a speaker, author, and coach who believes in impossible possibilities,
in the power of God’s love, in west Texas sunsets, good coffee, and in dreaming… again and again.
She enjoys connecting with family and friends – both old and new.

Brenda can be reached at brenda@brendaharkins.com and would love to hear from you.