Phil and I take our very active dog, Delilah, out for walks at Chamna Nature Preserve multiple times a week. There are a million trails out there but we have a set trail we usually take. We might take the long version or the shorter route depending upon timing and weather.
We let Delilah off the leash because she stays pretty close and always comes to a whistle. This day we had a big surprise on the trail with a big buck deer crashing through the brush. Delilah followed at a distance and seemed to enjoy running with a friend. I whistled and she circled back immediately. Good girl!
The next time we were out, Phil and I stopped to take a look to see if we could see owls in one particular tree where we had seen a mom and 2 babies before. They are a bit hard to spot because they have great camouflage and they are generally motionless.
This time, Delilah barked at US because we weren’t moving. Too funny.
You see, we all get distracted.
Sometimes it’s the big, loud things thundering past that drag us off track. Sometimes it’s the quiet contemplation of possibilities. Sometimes it’s vitally important for us to shift our focus off a particular goal. Sometimes it’s just simply dropping our goal for a momentary amusement or someone else’s disrupting influence.
Whatever the distraction, we abandon the goal.
We get frustrated with ourselves for not following through. We get sidetracked by life and take the blame for not pushing ourselves harder. What if we could simply shift and get back on track?
We can!
The dog needed a whistle and we needed a bark reminder to keep going forward. We can create a quick cue for ourselves to return to the goal.
But first, let’s consider the goal. If the goal is based upon "have to" or expectations, it will be much harder to get back on track.
Is the goal worthy of our attention?
If not, revise the goal to fit personal preference or personal purpose. (Don’t know what that might be for you? Might need some help discovering your truth about that.)
With a clear goal that fits, once we find ourselves off track, we can resume course by taking a breath and tapping our ring fingers to our thumbs and say, Cancel-Cancel. This breaks the pattern of distraction.
Then take a breath. A big breath. A good breath. Pay attention to the breath. Then focus on what is around you. Look for something green. Nothing? Look for something blue. How many blue things capture your attention?
Just notice.
By noticing the world around us we disconnect from the struggle of expectations and the clutter of life’s noise. Distractions starve the goal. When we reconnect with our awareness, this awareness fuels the goal.
With awareness locked and loaded, we then ask, “What’s the next step?”
The step reveals itself. We move forward once again.
Distractions fade when we whistle our awareness to return to the goal in our heart.