A
man was complaining to Pedro, ‘my child is perpetually distracted’. Pedro
queried, ‘positive distractions or negative distractions?’ The man stopped
playing with his mobile and asked, ‘what did you say?’
A distraction is
something that takes your attention away from what you are supposed to be
doing. If you cannot keep from checking your social networking
forums every ten minutes, that's a distraction that's going to interfere
with your other priorities – family, work, passions, people.
However
a distraction can also be a refreshing change. If you are worried about your
presentation tomorrow, watching a mindless show on TV may be a welcome
distraction that helps you relax. The word comes from the Latin dis
(apart) and trahere(drag). So distraction is when you're dragged away from
your task or from your worries.
Positive
distractions divert you from negativity and help you emerge refreshed to take
on priorities. These include choices like going on a trek, playing sports,
attending dance or singing classes, watching entertainment, pursuing some hobby
or even talking with friends and family. Social networking sites, television,
gadgets easily turn negative distractions when done in excess. However, in
moderation, they can be refreshing too.
We
play many roles and cope with varied challenges and pied priorities. The key to
happiness and success is to involve in multiple positive distractions. If we do
not choose positive distractions, we will tend to be attracted to negative
distractions and allow them to turn into bad habits that take focus off our
task.
We
must identify what makes us happy and also confirm that it does not estrange us
from the people we love or distance us from the things we really want to do. We
must let these positive distractions impact our focus. Then, we would not have
time and space for worries or negative distractions to intrude, except
moderated indulgences.
Ensure
relationships are reflected
choose to be positively distracted!
- Pravin K Sabnis
