Distractions

I listened to a talk the other day from a wise man, who mentioned a few things that really made me stop and think.  I love it when I hear something that makes me ponder my life a bit, and want to be better.  I have always said we live in the age of distractions now.  There are just SO many things out there, to distract us and keep us from doing the things we really should be doing.  For me, one of my biggest distractions is my cell phone, and I am sure I am not alone in this.  Everywhere you look people are on their cell phones.

Now, I can justify my cell phone by saying I am using it for work, I am getting caught up on what happened through the day, I can even say I am blogging, or reading my scriptures, or whatever it is..... but the truth is, it is a distraction to me.  Even if I say I am reading my scriptures, something inevitably buzzes at me, or lets me know there is a new message, or somebody

updated facebook, or ...  and it distracts me from what is important.

We have totally created our society of ADHD people, not even just kiddos!  Adults are often far worse than the kiddos, but we label ourselves as being busy, or justify it by saying we are getting stuff done, but really, we are distracted, and  use excuses.

Now in his talk, he made sure he mentioned that not all distractions are evil.  He said distractions, even though they are not evil, are still distractions.  I add in here excuses, even though you think they may be justified, are still excuses.  And he said, Sin is still sin. And it will always be sin.

We can be distracted with so many good things, fun things, that we procrastinate things that should be done, and don't have time to do the things that are important.  We then get to the point where we justify it, or excuse it away, and think it's okay because we have been busy doing good things.  It's not okay being busy unless we are doing what is most important.  If our families suffer, and our commitments suffer, it is not okay.  Excuses are just excuses no matter what.  Sin is still sin, and what is that?  directly going against God's commandments and what He would have you do.

Thus, I have deleted the apps on my phone that are distractions to me.  Even though they were not bad, they were taking up too much of my time, making me justify / making excuses, like I was just relaxing after a long day, or taking a few minutes to just sit.  I found little things like that were taking up any spare time I had in the day, stealing from what was truly important.  Allowing me to sin, in a way, because I was procrastinating, and that is not a good thing.

So what are the distractions in your life?  What are the excuses?  What are your justifications?  What could you give up, to make something better?  What? 

People are More Than a Name or Number

Often, and I mean way too often, we (as a people in general) tend to forget that others have feelings.  They have needs that need to be fulfilled.  Several times of late, in conversations I have had, the importance of building relationships has come up.  Whether it has been because we have been looking at stats, or talking about specific people, it has come up. 

Why is it, that we get so terribly caught up in what is important to us, what WE think, that we completely

miss the picture of what is important on the other end of the conversation or objective?  Seriously?  Why can't we see things from the other point of view, and understand it isn't always about us? 

Interesting, I was at a meeting where we were going over some stats, which of course involves people.  Questions came up about why certain stats were so low, and how can we bring them up, improve them.  I really feel building relationships is one main key to dealing with people.  Like a wise man told me over the past week, you build a relationship with someone, and build up that bank of trust, and occasionally you have to cash in on some of that trust.  If you don't have a bank of trust, and a relationship, you have nothing to cash in on.

Relationships, something I have always tried to create with my own kids, with those who I have taught, and those I have worked with.  It doesn't always have to by my way, in fact when dealing with people we want to help, it is very rarely my way.  It is about what is best for the other person, what will help them best to solve the problem.  Not... what I think is best, or what I want, but what is best for them!

This is a hard concept for so many to accept.  I get it.  But I guarantee if we take our eyes off ourselves for awhile, and really focus on the needs of others, things seem to start to make sense.  It works.

People are more than a name on paper, or a numbers on a list of stats.  They have feelings, needs, and are breakable.  What are their feelings?  What are their needs?  How can I help them without breaking them?

Life is Fragile!  Lift, don't tear down.  Strengthen, don't break.  Encourage, don't be mean.  Build relationships, don't close off.  You will be happier, and so will those around you.