The Blessing of Distraction

I had an enlightening life experience over the past few weeks. For the past two years, my parents have been my beloved Uncle Wayne’s caregivers. He was a Parkinson’s patient for 10 years and under the care of Odyssey Hospice for the past 5 months.

And yet it was surprising that when he came to live with me and my family, while my parents were out of the country on vacation, he began to fail rapidly and passed away just last week. As an entrepreneur, this new responsibility took a toll on my business. I had to postpone or cancel meetings and networking events to stay in my home office as he required more and more care. Basically, I was distracted and I put my business on the back burner – or so I thought.

Oddly enough, in the time Uncle Wayne lived here, I landed new projects and bid opportunities that I had not given attention to in the past. I kept saying ‘you’re not going anywhere Uncle Wayne; you are my good luck charm.’ He just beamed! He was so proud of me and my accomplishments. He asked me about my goals, my projects and ‘how did you learn to do all of this?’ Through our numerous and in-depth conversations, Uncle Wayne helped me think differently about my business.

After he died, I was in a funk. I can’t say I was depressed, but I was definitely off my game. I had gotten used to working from my home office. I realized that prior to his living here, I had been spending so much time out in the community networking and volunteering, that I had actually lost focus on why I’m in business in the first place.

So, out of this life-changing experience came a career change too! I have reworked my strategic plan, selected the few networking opportunities in which I will continue to participate, and I’ve recommitted to the sales process of my business. There are projects that I’m working on now that I’ve always dreamed about. I needed the ‘distraction’ to get my head on straight.

As I heard recently from Matthew Best, a business coach that I respect, and then learned personally, distractions are often a way to take a step back and refocus. So the next time you find yourself ‘distracted,’ take a moment to think about what you are ‘distracted’ from and decide if, in the big picture, it’s really worth your time!