Stay Focused on Your Game
You have to stay focused on your game or you’ll end up in more trouble than you need or want. Every time you take on someone else’s fight, challenge, or troubles, you increase the load you have to bear and limit your ability to win your race.
When you take on a fight that’s not your own, you limit your ability to win your race.
Getting Distracted by the Other Game
My son wanted to play baseball, so we signed him up. Like most little league teams, he had one of those players that would be enjoying the world around him more than the game ahead of him. On at least one occasion during practice, the young boy became distracted with chasing butterflies.
My son worried about the player and did everything he could to keep the player on task. During one game, my son was so caught up in getting the boy to pay attention that my son missed the game in front of him. The player at bat hit a fly right to my son, but he missed it. The batter scored two runs.
When we get distracted by the other game – whether that’s another game on a different field or the game the other players are playing around us – we miss out on what is going on in front of is.
Don’t miss the game in front of you worrying about the others around you. Share on X
Lessons to Learn
- You probably don’t want to get in a fight that isn’t your own.
- You need to know your focus and game so you aren’t lured into the others.
- Just because you think you’re helping doesn’t mean your help will be appreciated.
Finding Ways to Stay Focused
I would like to tell you the only place that distractions happened was in the little league games. In truth, they happen all the time, everywhere, often without warning. This morning, I was commenting on news stories coming across my feed. My husband finally put down his fork and stared at me. “Why do you read these things to me? There is nothing I can do about them and all they do is get me upset.”
He was right. Not only did he get upset, but I spent hours chasing squirrels down rabbit holes that only lead to pipe-smoking caterpillars.
I could tell more tales, but let’s just agree that on more than one occasion today I have managed to get distracted by someone else’s game. I wanted to explain the “right” way to do it – aka MY WAY. I needed to express the displeasure I had with the way things were going.
What’s worse, I got so caught up in their games that I almost missed my own.
I needed a kickstart.
When my husband made his statement, it stuck with me. The rest of the times that I would begin chasing that squirrel, his statement would return to the front of my thoughts. “I can’t do anything about it.” It reminds me of the mug “If you can’t fix it stop fixating on it.”
I had to make a move.
At one point, the sun came out (it’s been a cloudy day in more than my head). “I’m going to catch the sun.” I moved from inside to outside. Between the breeze and the sun, my heart began to settle back on my journey.
It took turning away.
More than anything else, I had to click off the things that weren’t in my lane. Everything that popped up that drove me away from my focus, I clicked it off. Even my emails had to be closed out for a time so I could concentrate on what I needed to do.
I can’t stay focused on my game as long as I get distracted by the people, the things, and the other games around me.
Choosing to Focus On Your Game
You can’t fix them. That’s okay. They can’t fix you either. When you let go of the need to make everything work to your specific plan, you’ll enjoy the journey a lot more. You’ll also discover that peace comes with letting go of everyone else’s game.
When you can make a difference in the situation (in a positive way) then get invested. When you grow accountability, you know better the right times to step into a different lane. But even then, if it distracts you from your game or hinders your ability to play, then invest long and hard thinking about it before you move.
Do what you can do. Do it all with God as your focus. And be diligent in staying focused on your game.
Listen to #GrowingHOPE
Catch today’s episode of the #GrowingHOPE podcast where we continue to learn more about butterfly talk by finding out the right place to feed the caterpillars. Just click the play button below.
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