Distracted
I took one of my kids to the doctor’s office yesterday. As I pulled into the parking lot, my mind went back to a time many years ago.
Because I have several children, I often try to schedule doctor appointments in one big group. I can get everyone checked off at once and go back to normal life. It seems to be an efficient way to do things.
On this day I had four kids with me. We were running late, so I hustled the three littles out of the car, lifted my baby out of his seat, and we ran inside.
The appointments went as smoothly as they do when you’re stuck in a tiny examination room with four kids 7 and under. An hour or so later, we were all ready to leave—especially me.
As we walked out of the building, I started fumbling around in my purse, looking for my keys. I couldn’t find them. I stopped walking and looked a little more intently.
My keys were gone.
Had I dropped them in the office? Had they fallen out somewhere along the way? I decided to look near the car first. As we got closer, it sounded like the car was already running.
No way.
😳
Yes, actually—my car was unlocked with my keys still in the ignition, running. For the last HOUR+!
We piled back into the car, and I drove home, deeply ashamed of my stupidity and overwhelmingly grateful that no one stole my car.
Distracted.
I was so distracted that I didn’t even bother to turn my car OFF! I just got out and left.
Unfortunately, I’ve been distracted lots of other times, too. I’ve been in the car and found myself headed to the dance studio instead of going to the pharmacy. Being distracted is why I forgot to slow down in a school zone, and ended up with a big, FAT ticket. Sometimes, while “listening” to my son reading before bed, I’m actually scrolling on my phone.
Distracted.
A distraction is anything that moves us away from what we really want. When we spend much of our time distracted, we are hanging out in mental uncertainty.
Confused.
Frazzled.
Confounded.
Uncertain.
No, thank you. Who wants that?!
The opposite of distraction, is traction. These actions push us towards what we really want. Traction brings mindfulness, peace, focus, and calm.
Traction makes it possible for us to be purposeful in our actions. We can stop auto-piloting and start taking steps to reach the goals we set.
Obviously, distraction is a struggle of mine. But despite all the failures, I keep trying. I’m not spending my time in mental uncertainty anymore. I’m choosing traction, instead.
