Hi guys! Welcome to Episode 478 of The wildly Successful Lifestyle podcast! What’s going on out there? Are you having a good week? I hope so. Are you living a life that you love and you’re excited about? I hope that too. If you’re not, have you ever wondered why? Why do things seem to happen for some but not for others? Why are some so successful and others not so much? It’s a good question.
In the book I’m reading John Templeton speaks about how sometimes we have this dream and it just keeps being one step away from us and how sometimes that’s because we still have something left to do that maybe we are avoiding because it is out of our comfort zone and so we distract ourselves which just keeps the dream one step away.
I notice for me when I get uncomfortable the first thing I want to do is distract myself either with my phone or even getting up and finding a snack. Do you guys do that? Fortunately I have built discipline in the snack department. I haven’t always had discipline in that department. That’s been an area of focus for me recently though and it’s amazing what you can do when you’re determined to do it. Eric and I were having dinner the other night, I had made us a big salad with baked chicken on top, which was declicious. Now, in the back of my mind when we were done with dinner I noticed myself kind of wanting a cookie. My sister in law makes these insane peanut butter cookies that are gluten, grain and dairy free and are better than any cookie ive ever had besides the chocolate oatmeal, anyway she had given us some and we put them in the freezer because we only allow ourselves dessert twice a week. But it was a Monday and I didn’t want to waste a dessert day on a Monday. Ha. It’s a mindset thing, anyway, Just as I was thinking it, Eric said I kind of want a cookie and I thought oh man he read my mind, but then he added but it’s Monday and I know that it’s just a craving and it will go away in a minute or two….buzzkill….but I knew he was right and in a minute or two we had both forgotten all about wanting a cookie, it never even came up again. Now, for extra protection because I know it can be an issue, I make sure I don’t have anything easy access in case my discipline wavers which is why we freeze them because it takes time and thought to get it out and heat it up so there’s no grazing happening if it’s frozen. The idea behind that is by the time you have to go get the cookie out of the freezer, put it on a plate or heat the oven, or put it in the microwave the urge basically could be gone. One study calls that “surfing the urge” So you don’t respond immediately to the urge, you just notice it, allow it to be there and don’t feel the need to solve for it. This allows you to make a decision when you are using your mind outside of the urge. This applies with any urge including distractions. So for me, snacks are handled for the most part But the phone is a whole other situation. It’s always there. And I always know I can distract myself fully and completely by getting on x where my favorite posters are just waiting to grab me and take me on a really interesting ride on any topic of my choice and then 45 min later I’ve forgotten what I needed to be distracted by in the first place but I also didn’t accomplish the thing I wanted to accomplish. No big deal in one instance but consistently doing that every day will absolutely keep me from reaching my fullest potential. Sure I will accomplish some things but what would be possible if I really allowed myself to stick to being distracted no more than 15 min per day? Actually timing it. And if we use it all up in one sitting, then we have to be done for the day with x or Instagram or Facebook or whatever it is on our phone that keeps us from reaching our full potential. What could we accomplish with that sort of discipline? We all have the ability to decide how and where we spend our time. I mean when we lay our heads down at night do we really wish we had spent more time mindlessly scrolling on our phone or watching tv or do we want to go to sleep fulfilled because we spent our precious time doing things that brought us joy, moved us forward or made us better in some way whether that’s mentally or physically? I’ve come to realize that distraction really is a tool for the undisciplined mind.
How does that make you feel to hear that? Distraction is the tool for an undisciplined mind. Ouch. I’m offending myself here because I do tend to get easily distracted. The thing I have going for me is that I know that and so I consistently work at it.
Now we all get distracted periodically but consistently distracting ourselves is how we end up losing sight of what it is we personally were put here to do. Because we all have something that we deeply want to accomplish. Most of us want to be healthy mentally and physically. Most of us want to have success in some way or another whether that’s raising amazing, well adjusted successful kids or having a career that’s fulfilling in all the ways we want it to be. If you really think about it, the thing that stands between you and everything you want…really is distractions. We don’t have the body we know we could have because we distract ourselves with food. We don’t have the mental clarity we could have because we distract ourselves with alcohol. We haven’t reached our fullest potential because we distract ourselves with limiting beliefs and our relationships suffer because we distract ourselves with social media, the news, and tv.
What do we always say about someone who is really successful at something? If someone is super fit, we admire their discipline. If someone eats super healthy, we admire their discipline, if someone has the ultimate success in our mind, we admire their discipline. You very rarely see super fit people distracting themselves by overeating, not consistently. You rarely see the mentally sharpest people you know distract themselves with excessive alcohol. Not consistently. You rarely see the CEO of a company spending hours on Facebook, not consistently. You rarely see a mom of 4 successful kids spending tons of time on social media while her kids are right in front of her, not consistently. The reason we admire someone is because in their chosen field they are disciplined. They don’t allow their dreams to be always one step away because of distraction. They have a very disciplined mind in at least that one area.
Is there an area where you’ve allowed an undisciplined mind? Is there an area where distractions are keeping you from reaching your full potential? Are distractions hurting your relationships? Are they hurting your mental and physical health? Are distractions keeping you from reaching your full potential? I know for me the answer is yes. But I’m aware of it and my goal is to be better today than I was yesterday. Awareness is the first step.
What are distractions taking from you? It’s a good question to ask. I am an uplifter at heart so I wanted to end this episode on a soft, very positive note.
My husband bought me a small little book to go along with my daily journal. It’s called reminders from the universe. It’s just a few lines on each page but they are powerful. One of the pages I read today was so beautiful and comforting. I will put it in the show notes if you want to remember it as well but this was this mornings reminder from the universe. Here it is today’s reminder from the universe.
“I don’t want you to struggle or strive; I want you to relax, breathe, let go, and embrace a more effortless existence where things flow naturally. When you allow me to lead, you’ll discover that my guidance is the only strength you need. Embracing my energy reveals the constant magic that surrounds you. “
Isn’t that beautiful? Whether you believe that guidance to be from God or the universe or maybe from your own internal guidance, it’s comforting isn’t it? And it feels right doesn’t it?
My challenge to you this week is to be honest with yourself about distractions. What are they taking from you? What could you accomplish if you truly had a disciplined mind?
