The power of loosing distractions

Yesterday was Jawahar Lal Nehru’s birthday. So, I searched for the book ‘The Discovery of India’ and found a PDF version of the book. It was around 500 pages long, filled with life transforming stories, philosophies and thoughts.

I wondered how he managed to write one of India’s most amazing explanations only to realize that it was the power of loosing distraction that helped Chachaji complete his work.

Generally, we love distractions. I do. I used to write endless to-do lists, priority lists and never complete them and let me tell you none of my priorities were as hard as writing that 500 page masterpiece and yet, I never completed them, simply because I was so abreast to my distractions.

The day I lost my distractions, the computer, the internet, the television, friends, time-pass activities, my priorities got crossed off by themselves. Isn’t that simple?

It is important to loose your distractions. That might look like another way of telling “concentrate on your priorities” but I think it’s a bit different. It means, instead of working about trying to complete the work when you are distracted, you switch off the distractions one by one and get the work done, because then you have nothing else to do.

Nehru happened to be in the same condition. He wrote ‘the Discover of India’ while he was in Jail for five months in Ahmednagar Fort Prison during April to September 1944. Back then, they had nothing else to do in jail. No politics, no country rebel, no activities, just lots and lots of time to waste.

Thus, when you are puffed up from your distractions, you loose you work. Try switching off your distraction one by one and switch them off so that they are out of reach. In no time, you’ll have completed your best work. Photo by Robert via Flickr!