I’m a sucker for a distraction. I often walk into my home office with a specific purpose in mind only to waste precious time doing something unplanned. Maybe it’s grabbing a magazine off the desk to read a tempting article whose cover title is far better than the piece itself, or tumbling down the internet rabbit hole when I simply want to pay a bill online. The worst part is that after the detour ends, not only do I feel listless, I’m irritated because I find myself staring into space trying to remember what I originally came into the office do. Over the months, those small detours turn into long stretches of time I can’t account for… and will never get back. And what do I have to show for them?
Nothing.
The same thing happens to our lives. String together countless detours of unplanned activities and they can turn into a lifetime you can’t account for… and will never get back.
I believe we all stepped foot onto this earth, into these lives, to do something special. And that something special is probably a promise you made to yourself before you were even born. Some of us accomplish those promises, some of us don’t. For those who don’t, I believe they have forgotten what they came here to do. There is no shame in forgetting. We all do it from time to time. But if you have indeed forgotten, there is a problem if you aren’t trying to remember.
Make your life count by accomplishing what you came here to do. If you are having a tough time recalling what that is, shut off the internet, go for a walk, and try to remember.
Thanks for this……means a lot to focus on what is really important.
Dubravka
You’re welcome, Dubravka. 🙂
Very pleased to see you up & posting again, your posts always bring "food for thought" and doses of inspiration
Thanks, Veronica. Glad you like them.
Nice to hear from you again, Chris. My remembering is on a smaller scale at the moment. Back in France for the summer with bs coming in from all sides…this post and "Climb Every Mountain" played by a group of 65 American teenage musicians brought me back to HERE. Hope all is well with you-Laury
So glad you are back in France, Laury, even if just for the summer. Great to hear from you.
I refer to this dilemma as brown squirrel.
It exists from our own doings. We excitedly create ways for brown squirrel to thrive; television, telephone, social media sites, smartphones, kids, grandkids, as well as our important & ever expanding networks of people.
With so much going on in our lives, our minds struggle with prioritizing what is the most important at any specific moment in time.
In order to further control the ever distracting brown squirrel we created mute & off buttons, and notification controls for all of the social media sites, smartphones and tablets. Adding our individual activities to our calendars has some further control over brown squirrel too.
Regardless of the processes, systems and training we receive, the brown squirrel will always be a challenge to our lives, careers and businesses.
Gotta go – someone is knocking at the door. (lol)
Teddy, Is this the same squirrel from the movie "Up"? 🙂 I’m reading "Hamlet’s Blackberry" right now, a recommendation from Kim Williams, and it touches on all this.
Love this article, Chris!! How true and I see a walk coming in my near future…
Thanks, Charlie! Great to "see" you here.