Reframe distractions into focused energy

I was talking to my neighbor the other day. Sadly, her husband had passed away the week earlier and I asked how she was doing. She told me she was going back to work in a few days. My response was, that it would be a welcome distraction. Considering my words this morning, I felt conflicted. I started thinking about whether distractions are a good thing. Do distractions take us out of our experience in the present moment? Are they a way to avoid what we are feeling? Is there a better way to focus our energy?

I'm great at distractions...whether it’s a mindless chore, making food, or scrolling my phone. I’ve perfected the "take a break and do something else," when really I'd like to focus on what I'm working on. But are distractions bad? Smarter people than me seem to agree that distractions aren't always helpful. Psychologists have found that distractions can serve as short-term emotion regulation tools, but often at the cost of long-term emotional processing. According to research, avoiding uncomfortable feelings by shifting attention might provide temporary relief, but it can also delay healing or clarity.

Thinking about what I know, where can mindfulness and whole living help. Distractions, by definition, are anything that diverts your attention away from what you intend to focus on. They interrupt attention and reduce your ability to concentrate on a current task or objective. In neuroscience, the brain’s prefrontal cortex (the center of decision-making and focus) becomes fatigued with constant task-switching. I often tell my coaching clients, multitasking isn't helping you get things done. The science shows these frequent distractions can reduce productivity, memory, and even increase anxiety.

Another perspective, is distractions aren't bad but an opportunity to grow. Reframed, distractions are simply misdirected energy. And we can take that energy and move it to something more positive and focused.

How? First, start with the body. Interestingly, this blog post was born while running this morning. Quite literally moving my body with my senses alive. Feeling my feet pound the pavement, smelling the flowers of spring, listening to the birdsong (and any cars coming up behind me), and making sure I wasn't falling while looking for changes in the road. Running, for me, is a very focused activity. A place I can be focused on my body, mind, and breath. Fully in the moment.

Next? Use the mind and intention. Think about intuitive eating, the practice of paying attention to when you are hungry and how you are eating. Tuning into the flavors, textures, smells, and how your body feels - without judgment or distraction. Being present with your food, listening to your hunger and fullness cues, and making choices that benefit your well-being. Choosing foods with intention, whether it's to nourish, energize, or comfort - rather than eating out of habit, boredom, or emotional autopilot. Mindfulness to recognize how I feel (hungry or not?) or having a hard time focusing and looking for distractions.

What else helps? Your core values. Moving away from not-so-helpful distractions and bring meaning and values into what you are doing. Take technology. Instead of mindlessly scrolling, I can use my phone in a more thoughtful way. One of my core values is connection, so use my phone to text people I haven’t connected with in a while instead of going on Instagram with no real purpose. Or, if I do want to go on the socials, use them to look up beautiful trip destinations, tied to my core value of adventure. Bringing purpose into what I am doing to support how I want to live.

In yoga, distractions are fluctuations of the mind (chitta vritti) that pull you away from presence, purpose, or higher awareness. Patanjali's second sutra is "Yogas chitta vritti nirodhah" or yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind-stuff. Yoga's purpose is to calm or quiet these fluctuations, and connect to a state of clear awareness and presence. This presence is our true self, or purusha in Sanskrit. Using the practice to focus my energy on things that will add value to my life and help me live closer to my own essence.