Living a life of focus - Beware of distractions

Focus is a fundamental idea in all facets of life that underpins effectiveness, relevance, productivity and reward. Focus is generally defined as the ability to give all your attention, time, and energy to a particular activity. The ability to fully concentrate on a task to get it done without wavering.

A focused life is an effective, relevant and productive life. Living a focused life demands that you set your priorities right and be willing to defend what you choose to pay attention to in order to overcome distractions. A distraction, either from internal or external sources can be anything that prevents someone from giving their attention to something else.

Distractions could be wrapped up in a lot of things. Some may come through seemingly fine ideas of other people but suggestive of things that are quite different from yours and what you have chosen to do for yourself. Distractions may also come through hindrances posed by people through hate because they think you are not good enough. Learning to avoid distractions is also learning to focus on your assignment, goal or calling over and over again.

Great ideas and opportunities will come your way, those that are so different from yours, suggesting new paths and directions that will eventually lead you broken and make you ineffective. You must be mentally resolute in order to keep your focus and get rid of the ‘Mr. nice guy’ attitude or syndrome trying to please every single soul you meet.

Most people are moral in a bad way, they cannot find peace unless they have carried the worries and the burdens of the whole world. They cannot simply say “No” to offers that are not “needful” because they want to appear good before people. Helping others carry their burdens and reducing their worries is a
good thing. People really depend on each other to live; we share the warmth of love and the disappointments of life.

These notwithstanding, you should gracefully have a limit, else it becomes a distraction to you. There are things you don’t need to bite because you simply cannot chew. Many issues we worry about and waste our precious time on are matters that we cannot directly influence to bring about change. Some religious arguments, political arguments and the discussion of the personal lives of people are some of the silent killers of focus.

To keep your focus even when distracted, you must learn to mature your emotional intelligence because in life you can never absolutely avoid distraction. Even setbacks can come as distractions; disappointments and poor performance can be forms of distractions. When these happen, you can be choked and thrown off balance, your feelings will be hurt.

At this point, you need to put yourself together and pick up yourself as fast as possible by healing your emotional hurt. If you do not fix this emotional hurt, you can follow things on a superficial level, controlled by your emotions and feelings that have no reasoning power. This will continuously lead to more
disappointments and more hurts. A greater part of people in the world are living superficially. Many people just follow things without knowing exactly what is going on. Led astray and distracted from their life’s purpose.

There was confusion for example in Ephesus (Acts 19:23-32,) about the way of life and how to genuinely get salvation for one’s soul, Paul the Apostle preached against the falsehood of the goddess, Diana. As it is widely known in recent times, religious people and idol worshippers don’t care about the salvation of people; they are interested in themselves and what profit and
gains they can make from people. Paul’s preaching gave the people a new direction and the profit of these craftsmen would have been cut, so when they heard about the new and powerful move of God’s salvation, they were full of wrath.

It is sad how the freedom of some people produces anger in others. They rallied against Paul in Ephesus, chanting “great is Diana of the Ephesians”, not necessarily because of the freedom or salvation of the people of Ephesus but for their own profits. These men went into the town’s theatre to argue their case out. It is interesting to note that in the midst of all these confusions, there were people who were confused within the confusion because they did not know exactly what the bone of contention actually was, yet they were following, chanting and making noise, such a distracted and unfocused life can rob you of
your destiny.

This kind of life is weak and dangerous. Without focus, we are tossed aimlessly
from one point of life to another. This should not be your life; don’t waste your life rooting for the problems of others while you know nothing about what is going on in their lives, stay in your lane. In verse 32 of chapter 19 of the book of Acts, the Bible clearly states: “Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the majority were not aware on what account they had come together.”

Such an unfocused life can lead to an untimely death. We must not be easily influenced to follow just anything. The confusion of most men and
women should not be your confusion, avoid it. As we read in Hebrews 12:2-3, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.”

We recognize that there is wickedness in this world. Very unfair and calculated schemes to render you useless, disorganized and defeated still happens in our day as in the days of old, and if we pay attention to these hostilities in our world we will eventually give up. Like Jesus you must be willing to defend your priorities in life and stay focused. Christians are told and encouraged to have a certain attitude of focus, else they will be swallowed up in distractions and lose endurance in the race of faith.

We should have and keep our minds on the discipline of Christ that gave Him
victory. This way, we can reject the weakness that opposition and tough times present in our journey of faith to sway us . This will give us the ability to stand strong and overcome the challenges that we face in our faith and life as a whole rendering us effective, productive and relevant which comes along with reward.


Writer's Email: Yeboahsh@gmail.com