Distractions. They happen to everyone. One moment you’re locked in tight - focused on a task - and then an email, a phone call for help on a project, your kids fighting over the remote, or even a colleague unconsciously breaking your chain of thought and...BOOM. You’ve lost the client, the game, the sale, the respect of a friend or, in my case, you’re bleeding all over the kitchen.
I was cutting up slices of carrots for my kids’ snack after a go-go-go kinda day - that was very much still going - when my attention was pulled in too many directions: ringing phones, the dog begging for a potty break outside, the kids chasing in the house, and then...a flash of RED and pain. I dropped the knife and looked down. I had just cut my finger!
I’ll save you the suspense - not only did I survive, but all of my digits did, too. But that’s not the point. The point isn’t even how random life is that a simple mistake - not paying attention, not focused - can lead one to the magical joy of ER stitches. Because if it were, what’s the solution to avoid those bad or weird outcomes in life? Focus harder?
Nope, the point is that if you don’t take the time in life to slow down and engage in self-care, you can get hurt. Lately, I lost sight of that and wasn’t caring for myself. But sadly, even the stitches didn’t wake me up to that fact...know what did? The scar.
After our quick jaunt to the ER, I was right back to my distractions. Things to do, calls to make and places to be, and after a few more days of me ignoring my wound, I looked down and noticed that the wound had healed... but all wrong. An infection formed at the site of the cut and around it was a cute lil’ lump of scar tissue, or as I’ve come to call it, a fun yoga hand bump.
Only then did I get the message: Wake up Shakila. You have to be present, and to be present you have to take care of yourself, or you can’t take care of anyone else...at least not very well. You cannot control all of the distractions, but you can control your state of mind when they interrupt your goals.
I figured out, the hard way, that I needed self-care. I needed a little time and focus on me.
So let me ask you:
What wounds are you ignoring?
What scars have formed from lack of attention?
Where can self care be used in your life?
Comments