Distractions Will Bring You Down If You Don’t Have a Plan
Don't create problems by letting distractions take you away from your most important work
“God made man simple; men’s complex problems are of his own devising.” (Ecclesiastes 7:30, J.B. Phillips)
King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes that there is “nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9) And then he went on for many chapters, in multiple ways, to say that we can lose simplicity by allowing distraction and discontent to sideline us. In fact, he called chasing after things and experiences looking for fulfillment “chasing the wind.”
It is easy to get distracted. Good things can distract us. Desires can easily distract us. Options and choices often distract. Insecurities and comparison set a trap for distraction. If we are not careful we can let life carry us, but to go against the current takes strength, focus, courage, and intention.
You must identify your core values and design your life around those things. Even when it’s hard. Because life isn’t always easy, but we can keep it simple.
Distraction sets in motion confusion and complications which lead to stress and anxiety, irritation, and discouragement. Distraction leads to discontent when we lose focus and forget what was important to us. We begin to glance around, and we start comparing, coveting, and competing.
It’s not about the grass being greener on the other side of the fence, it’s about what we’re missing on our side of the fence when we grasp for more.
A sure way to complicate your life is to let discontent take hold. You will add to your life to try to feed the discontent, but adding to our lives creates complications.
It all starts with focus. We maintain a full, simple life when we keep our focus on what our life should look like.
Keep your eyes on the right things and your heart focused on God and distractions will not sideline you!
A Simple Prayer: Lord, when I’m tempted to allow distraction to pull me away from what’s important to me, please show me and redirect my vision and my desires. Help me practice gratitude and intentional planning so my life is full and I will not be vulnerable to discontent.
Preparing for simplicity:
➢ Do you feel like you have lost focus on what matters to you? Have you veered off course pursuing something that wasn’t part of your plan?
➢ If you don’t have a plan, now is the time to create one! Begin by brainstorming things that are important to you. Examples include time in nature, time to shop for and create high-quality meals, vacations, etc. Then you can create your life around those priorities!
Practicing Simplicity: If you’ve lost your way and discontentment is your companion, start a gratitude journal. This is one way to refocus on what matters to you. Creating a vision board or personal mission statement will help you gain clarity into your core values. From there you can begin to align or realign your life to the things that are important to you.
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