Focusing Forward: Recognizing and Overcoming DistractionSample

When I was in elementary school, sometimes during recess or gym I would play a game called Four Square. The object of the game was to eliminate players in higher squares so that you could advance to the highest square and win. The game itself cannot be played without boundaries, because within those boundaries is the ability to advance within the four positions of jack, queen, king, and ace. Looking back, what that game really taught me was how to stay focused and remain aware of boundaries. Focus and boundaries were critical to the game because the ball had to first bounce within your square (boundary) before you could send it to another player. If you did not allow the ball to bounce in your boundary first, you were out of the game and if you did not send the ball out of your square into another player’s square directly after the first bounce, you were out of the game. So you can see how staying focused and knowing the boundaries were critical to success and advancement.

Much like this game, focus and boundaries go hand and hand with advancing in our assignments. We cannot expect to go from one level of an assignment to the next without creating boundaries around the things that hinder us from moving forward.

One of the principles I try to live by is authenticity, and since focus and boundaries go hand in hand, I cannot share with you my own struggle with focus without sharing where I have had to recognize and/or establish boundaries. I have struggled for some time with social media. If I can be totally honest, I actually had pain in my thumb from scrolling so much (which I refused to go to the doctor for because, well, it was embarrassing). Social media has been able to draw me in and take me down a rabbit hole of nothingness, and after an hour, I instantly get convicted because of all the things I could have been doing besides nothing. I have tried app detoxes, changing the password, and having accountability, and although all of those things seemed to work for a period of time, none of them worked permanently. What has worked best for me is setting up boundaries.

I read an article that said if you removed an app from your phone, and you had to download it again each time you wanted to get on it, the lack of immediate accessibility would slow you down in going to the app. I tried that strategy, and it worked wonders. It allowed me to still have access to the app, but it was controlled. I had placed a boundary around when and how I would get on social media, which helped me to stay more focused on what was most important.

For some, focus will come when you completely eliminate the disruption or distraction, and for others, it will come with setting boundaries. You have to decide which one will create the most impact for you so that you can be focused.