I was trying to parse out some similar ideas a while back, and was thinking about distraction vs. attraction. And how we are often DIStracted by things we ATtracted to. Like those "divine gifts" you mention...
Yeah, it's all a jungle, I think—deciding which distractions (attractions) are good and which ones are bad. Perhaps the better moniker for our age is "The Age of Learning How to Deal with Distractions." I hate to watch people (myself included) beat themselves up for some utopian mythology of focus.
Well, I feel vindicated, thank you very much. And thank you for knowing what's going on inside my head, scary as that may be. The voice in my head that presses me to be more focused is not a kind voice and does not seem to understand creativity (for me) comes through distractions. For example, I'm supposed to be cleaning the house right now. Instead, I'm reading your blog. You, Grant, are a genius of a distraction and one that brings me joy. Permission to be me GRANTed.
Thanks, Jeannie! I'm glad my Substack is a welcome distraction (and maybe even a joyful one). All of our "shoulds" need to be questioned (should be questioned?). Or maybe not. Enjoy the way your brain works! (And enjoy that messy house!).
What I’ve found as I open myself up to noticing the distractions is that they all speak to each other in a very focused, wholistic way. The lightning hits the Duomo in Florence... the lightning painted on the shoes of the man I am struck to photograph in the street... I think the point is paying attention. What I love about my beloved ADHD friends is their capacity to notice everything.
There is nobody else I would want protecting my tent at night.
I love the idea of a heightened attention to distractions—working with them instead of them working on you. Or just being in conversation with them. That might be the true divine focus.
Amen! Don't fight your brain-type. Work with it. Figure it out. Fan it. Contour it. Adapt to it. Work around it. Know that it is your engine for your unique brand of creativity. Otherwise, if you fight it, you will just lose and get frustrated and have one more thing to beat yourself up over. There are plenty of things in life to criticize yourself over, you don't need another. Attention, the ability to pay attention for long periods, is WAY overrated.
"Don't fight your brain type" is the summation of this. It's too bad we often have to feel bad about our brain type. It's worth thinking about how to shape things or when your environment isn't supporting your desired endeavors, but I really think the stigma we've raised about things like ADHD will be seen as cruel, as trying to remedy left-handedness, someday.
I was trying to parse out some similar ideas a while back, and was thinking about distraction vs. attraction. And how we are often DIStracted by things we ATtracted to. Like those "divine gifts" you mention...
Yeah, it's all a jungle, I think—deciding which distractions (attractions) are good and which ones are bad. Perhaps the better moniker for our age is "The Age of Learning How to Deal with Distractions." I hate to watch people (myself included) beat themselves up for some utopian mythology of focus.
Well, I feel vindicated, thank you very much. And thank you for knowing what's going on inside my head, scary as that may be. The voice in my head that presses me to be more focused is not a kind voice and does not seem to understand creativity (for me) comes through distractions. For example, I'm supposed to be cleaning the house right now. Instead, I'm reading your blog. You, Grant, are a genius of a distraction and one that brings me joy. Permission to be me GRANTed.
Thanks, Jeannie! I'm glad my Substack is a welcome distraction (and maybe even a joyful one). All of our "shoulds" need to be questioned (should be questioned?). Or maybe not. Enjoy the way your brain works! (And enjoy that messy house!).
What I’ve found as I open myself up to noticing the distractions is that they all speak to each other in a very focused, wholistic way. The lightning hits the Duomo in Florence... the lightning painted on the shoes of the man I am struck to photograph in the street... I think the point is paying attention. What I love about my beloved ADHD friends is their capacity to notice everything.
There is nobody else I would want protecting my tent at night.
I love the idea of a heightened attention to distractions—working with them instead of them working on you. Or just being in conversation with them. That might be the true divine focus.
Amen! Don't fight your brain-type. Work with it. Figure it out. Fan it. Contour it. Adapt to it. Work around it. Know that it is your engine for your unique brand of creativity. Otherwise, if you fight it, you will just lose and get frustrated and have one more thing to beat yourself up over. There are plenty of things in life to criticize yourself over, you don't need another. Attention, the ability to pay attention for long periods, is WAY overrated.
"Don't fight your brain type" is the summation of this. It's too bad we often have to feel bad about our brain type. It's worth thinking about how to shape things or when your environment isn't supporting your desired endeavors, but I really think the stigma we've raised about things like ADHD will be seen as cruel, as trying to remedy left-handedness, someday.