Distraction

Focus is a finicky thing. Sometimes it can be hard because you’ve got too much on your plate, or even too little. Regardless, the struggle to focus and optimize your time can often end in distraction. You might end up getting very little done, but finding yourself on social media, or watching TV, or whatever other eye candy is set before you.

Now, it’s not so bad to have a little relaxation time – to mindlessly scroll through Twitter as you wind down; at least, it doesn’t seem that way. But I can’t help notice that it is. That’s my experience in any case.

See, you don’t really notice the negative effects of social media while your consuming it. You don’t always remember all the ways in which you could be better spending your time in that moment. It’s just so easy to slip away.

But how often do you consider the potential brilliance of your life? Of your aim? Of what you could become? Then, how often do you consider the uselessness of mindless activity in procuring that brilliance?

Now, you can’t just go about never taking a break. Never taking a moment to shut your mind off and watch a movie. That’s not what I’m saying. But a good question you might ask yourself is, if it’s not enriching an interpersonal relationship, if it’s not a responsibility I owe to myself, my future, or someone important to me, if it’s not making me a smarter or better person, why do it?

I’ve been working on this as of late, and though I’m far from perfect at it, I notice significant improvements to productivity, but more importantly, general fulfillment.

I finally broke and downloaded the Kindle app for my phone. So now, when I’m drawn to throw idle minutes into twitter, I just read a book instead. I’ve read an extra book per week as a result. Similarly, since I’m in school, I’ve started logging onto my homework portal from my phone and consuming as many resources as I can, or doing minor busy-work. There are so many ways to enrich your life on your phone, social media just isn’t one of them. There are resources all over the place that can help you become better and smarter, you just have to choose to use them.

It’s not just about your phone though. Take a look at your nights. What you do after work? One thing that’s helped me optimize my post-work free time is keeping a daily planner that’s broken into hours. In the morning, I make a list of things I need to get done after work. They don’t always have to be menial chores or projects either. Sometimes, you need to just schedule time to watch a show, or play games with your friends. It’s not just the content that matters, but the structure. You don’t have to collapse into bed after work. Grab a book and read while you eat. Turn on a podcast while you cook. Then, schedule time, it could be as simple as one hour each night to work on your projects.

If you don’t have projects, take a look around, the world is brimming with interesting things to learn and ways to make yourself better, as well as the people around you and your environment. You just have to be looking for things.

It’s not about stuffing your life with busy-work, or being hyper-productive and never taking a break. It’s about the fulfillment that you get – the meaning your life can take on when you chase after good things. Your satisfaction will skyrocket when you feel yourself moving constantly in a positive direction.

Maybe it’s just me, but in a lot of ways, I feel like I owe it to the people that don’t have the privilege I do, or sacrificed their own lives to procure the world and life that I get to live. I don’t know, it just feels disrespectful to waste even one second – to not live up to your potential. Because being a better person and living up to your potential makes the world a better place, and plants many small seeds that will grow and affect your environment in far more positive ways than that angry virtue signaling Facebook post will.

Thought vs. Action

If you ask just about anyone if they want to be a good person, I think they would say yes. I think most people would say that they want to have a positive impact on the people around them, and give something worthwhile to the world. But if that’s the case, why is there so little proof? Why are we so mean? So negative? So greedy? So self-absorbed? So lazy?

Maybe it starts with that last one. I don’t know what’s certain, but I can’t help but think we like to think a lot of good thoughts but the actions seem to be a little lackluster. What I see are pretty ideals, but no practice, and a blindness to cornerstone elements of life that can bring you to fulfill those ideals. It’s like we look in all the wrong places, and ignore the things in front of us.

We ignore the fact that our hearts, bodies, and minds are part of the same machine. If you want to achieve something, you would eliminate the obstacles in your way for the clearest path to the goal, but we don’t do that with ourselves.

I always used to consider myself a good person; a thoughtful person, but in truth, it wasn’t always evident. I was spiteful, I lashed out, I was lazy. I didn’t do the things I should because I was afraid of being uncomfortable. I can admit that now. It’s still a struggle, but whenever I talk to people about what helps you become the person you want to be, nobody seems to be taking the little things seriously, and I think it’s evident everywhere you look.

How often do you correlate your sleep schedule with your varying levels of irritability? Your nutrition with brain efficiency and energy levels? Your physical exercise with stress relief? Do you know how much sleep you need? What your macronutrients should look like? How much exercise you need each week? And most importantly, are those three areas receiving attention in your life? Are they on the back burner? Or do you ignore them completely?

It’s just so easy to think about what you want to be, but also, so easy to be blind to what you are. To most of us, being the ideal of a person that we want to be seems incredibly hard, but I can’t help but feel like we make it harder on ourselves. We don’t set ourselves up for success. We act as if simply thinking about it enough can will our ideals into existence.

Most people know that it’s the little things that count. They know that the foundation is always most important, but too often we don’t apply that to our own lives. We stuff our days full of things that don’t matter and ignore the things that do. And the worst part is that we feel like we don’t have a choice.

So I guess what I’m thinking is maybe we should give more time to our bodies? Because it changes your life. You quickly find that when you are mindful of your sleep, the food that goes into your body, and the exercise you will yourself through, it changes your mind. You think clearer. You’re more productive. You’re less anxious. It primes your mind to shoot even higher. You want to read good books and learn more and foster better relationships. But so long as your machine lacks the oil it needs, all these things seem so hard. Even the basic things become struggles, and that’s how your life gets infected with toxicity. Your body enables your mind. They’re one and the same.

Take it from me, your family will like you better, your co-workers will like you better, and you will like you better. The key is that you have to start at the foundation. So many emotional problems, lifestyle problems, and interpersonal problems can be traced back to the ways in which we talk to people, the ways we react, and the ways we view the world. If your body isn’t primed to handle these obstacles, you just might make the wrong choice and get upset over silly things, or snap at someone who didn’t deserve it. These things build and fester.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that ignoring your body makes it so much harder to be kind, thoughtful, creative, and hardworking. It doesn’t have to be that hard. When you create a healthy lifestyle, those things come naturally, as opposed to fighting an uphill battle each day, grasping at some semblance of a happy life. Don’t ignore the little things.

Twenty-Four

I turned twenty-four today. I know this the point where I’m supposed to start dreading the idea of growing older each year, but I started doing that when I turned twenty-one. Early, I know, but back then, I couldn’t bear the thought of losing time. I felt like there was a clock somewhere counting down, and I had so little time to do all the things I needed to. To live out my twenties properly, with the right amount of fun, exploration, and growth. But the funny thing is, I feel that much less now. Twenty-four isn’t old at all, trust me, I know, but I was always afraid anyway. This year, I’m excited, though. I’m just thankful to be alive. To make it this far and be this privileged is a statistical anomaly that I don’t want to take for granted. I don’t usually do any real celebrating, but I’m excited to have made it through another year. I’m a lot better at life since twenty-three and I can only hope to feel the same at twenty-five.

Aging brings on this weird fear of looking older, feeling slower, or losing opportunity as the walls close in around you, but I don’t see it that way anymore. Maybe because I feel smarter than I did last year; healthy and spry. I want to be energetic and active for many years to come, and I think I can do that. I think I look forward to getting older because I only want to get better. I only hope I’m lucky enough to have the time on this earth to do that.

Perception can be a poison, or a miracle drug. It’s the base that your life grows around.