What is it that you need to be doing and is vital to your mission, your sense of well being and the vision  that you have for yourself?  And why are you allowing yourself to be so distracted from this, and getting caught up in things that are not important or relevant to you?  What are you paying too much attention to that is actually not really worth wasting your important attention on?  

I was chatting to my wise and wonderful sister this morning.  The word that I used for myself, when asked as to how I am, was ‘discombobulated’.  I use this word often – it is a fun word – even though I might be redefining the meaning!  

Discombobulate is a fun word for ‘confuse’.  I was confused this morning as to how little of my own work I am getting effectively done and how I am spending too much time worrying about things that I cannot change, and being frustrated and irritated by things that are completely outside of my control.  I have been spending far too much time ruminating and anguishing on problems that I am not in a position to solve and with that wasting my energy and precious time on what is actually NOT in my own zone of influence.  Discombobulated in this sense means ‘all over the place, directionless and unproductive’.   I have allowed myself to be swerved off course for the things that really do matter, and though hard to admit, this is also very much my own doing.  

You might be a student who needs to complete a  project or prepare for the summer exams now, but with all the lovely conversations that you have had with friends, the ‘other’ drama’s that are filling your mind, the joys of going for another coffee – and then the temptations of TikTok just numb you to what is actually properly important.  You CAN do the other things, but what about prioritising properly?

So, with some gracious kindness towards yourself, bring your focus back to what you really do have control over:

What is the work that YOU need to do and can do?

How can you keep temptations away and keep in your lane?  How can you effectively step OUT of somebody else’s business and drama?

WHEN would you like to schedule in your time for friends and those coffee breaks?  How would your timetable look to you if it was one that truly served you and helped you towards accomplishing the things that are meaningful to you and matter?

How are you really thinking about yourself?  And what if you did say NO – because you are saying yes to yourself?

And what can you be doing now, in this moment.  What small, tiny action would be good to make so that you finish the day feeling that you have inched closer to some thing important for you?

What if there were no other distractions?  What are the distractions that are in fact just gossiping or ruminating. What could you be doing now if you let all of that go?

What would an excellent day look like, and feel like, for you?

What are the excuses you are making that steers you away from what you most want to be doing?

What are the things that you can be doing, are able to do and are within your remit.  Do them. 

My prayer for today is The Serenity Prayer:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

And … to get on with what is in MY area of influence, and to get on and do what I need to do!

Have a great day.