Archive: July 2006

Tune out the distractions

All of us face distractions—here's how to focus on what's important in your life

By Dr. Rodney C. Wilson, sports psychologist

What's a commonality between a professional athlete and the rest of us? Most of us do not hit a 100 mph baseball, or shoot a 40 foot, last second jump shot to win the game. Although we do admire those who can pull off those feats.

The rest of us try to hit a high-arching softball, shoot a 15 foot jump shot in a pickup game, ski down a bunny slope, run a 4 hour marathon or a 25 minute 5K race.

The common denominator among professional athletes and the rest of us, who are either trying to stay fit or train for an event, is that we have to deal with distractions so one can perform at a maximal level.

Distractions can be anything that breaks one's concentration in performing a specific task. Distractions can be small, like a ringing telephone while completing a work assignment. Or, a distraction can be something large, like an illness or injury, always at inopportune times. Ironically for some people, a major distraction is the constant advancement and effects of natural aging.

In today's society, one is considered to be proficiently productive if one can multi-task. It could be argued that how can one be truly (not marginally) productive if one is multi-tasking? Multi-tasking can be distracting. One's mind and body may appear to stay tired or exhausted most of the time.

Historical research has shown that the best inventors, who invented hundreds of things in their lifetimes (e.g. Thomas Alva Edison, Benjamin Franklin, etc.), concentrated on completing one invention and one task at a time. However, this historical discussion is a debate for another forum at another time. Nonetheless, simultaneous multiple tasks bring about multiple distractions, which in the worst case scenario can be mentally and physically costly.

So how do we enjoy our lives and our time if we are continuously distracted?

We do so by re-evaluating what your core is. Who are you and what are you all about? It is your innermost being. It is the part that defines you and sets you apart from everyone else. It is your uniqueness unto no other.

So, who are you and what really excites you?

I can not tell you what to do, because no matter how empathetic I may be, I will never walk a path in your shoes. I can, though, tell you that the enjoyment in life in spite of the distractions is the enjoyment of doing what you like doing. Concentrate on a few things and block out those which do not matter or that you can do nothing about.

Some people like riding their bikes for one hour, so they block out one hour for themselves, daily or weekly. Some people like gardening (which is a form of exercise), so they block out time for themselves, daily or weekly. They go back to their essence, their core, their enjoyment and their life's fulfillment.

Find your core, and then develop key "cue"e; words which will enable you to enjoy your life and activity, like "its bike time."e; "its fencing night"e; or "its crew hour."e;

Develop a cue

Another way to combat distractions is to develop a strong cue. A cue is a signal, or a hint, sometimes a word, meant to guide one's behavior. It is also a reminder to initiate a specific behavior. Other cue words could be, "Be tough!"e; or, "Be strong!"e;, positive words used on steaming hot or windy days—days that you may not feel like running or skating, and need a boost to get that training in.

The professional athletes are very good at this because they block all other distractions to do their jobs, which in fact is what most of them (if not all) love to do and that is play sports; not work sports, not contemplate but play sports. They concentrate, remain focused and remain on cue.

Be good to yourself because only you can truly be good to yourself; and at times be a little bit selfish. Being a little bit selfish doing what you like to do for your activity will allow you to be very much selfless in many other aspects of your life.

So go, and for an hour a day or three days a week or weekly, block everything else out and play life; you'll be working at many other things, so go and play life, at least for an hour. You don't have to win, just remain focused and remain on cue, go play and live!