Deliberate Distraction

Distraction: a thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else.

Contrary to popular belief, deliberately engaging in a bit of distraction is not a bad thing. As I have articulated many times before, not every emotion needs to be processed. Not every thought needs to be analyzed. Not every relational encounter ought to be scrutinized. Remember, our lives are meant to be lived, not dissected. Now, there is certainly a time and place for emotional processing and thoughtful reflection. However, these periods of reflection are meant to be the exception, not the norm.

It’s for this reason, as well as many others that deliberate distraction at times, is totally OK. Whether it’s taking a step back from your problems to get your sweat on with a solid workout; research shows this is good for your mental health. Whether it’s deliberately deciding to not focus on all that is wrong, but instead make a list of all that is good; research also shows that this type of deliberate distraction is good for your mental health. Or whether it’s momentarily forgetting about the challenges in your own world and instead, going out of your way to serve another and be part of their world; research again has demonstrated that this is good for your mental health.

Distraction gets a bad reputation, but again, there is ample evidence that allowing your mind to shift to something else and get deliberately distracted from the overwhelm of our own challenges can be beneficial. Because sometimes that workout reminds you that you are powerful, that you are capable, that you can do hard things. Or that gratitude practice reminds you that even when there is so much bad in your world, goodness still exists. Or being of service to another and reminding ourselves that not only are we needed in this world, but that we are not alone in experiencing hardships and heartache.

Deliberate distraction can be helpful for the person who tends to get stuck in analysis paralysis. It can be helpful for the person whose automatic thoughts tend to be rooted in worry, excess negativity or dread. The purpose of deliberate distraction is not to ignore yourself or disassociate from the patterns or problems that desperately need your attention. Rather, deliberate distraction is helpful in learning to feed the parts of your life that are not exclusively tied to your problems. Don’t be afraid to give it a try.