Man, I really hate when I forget to do things. I don’t mean forget-to-go-to-the-dry-cleaners kinds of things, which I do on a regular basis, or even forget-to-put-your-dentures-in-before-going-to-work kinds of things, which I only do on a semi-regular basis. I mean things like “be independently wealthy” or “become the ruler of several small nation states” or “lose 15 pounds.” I had fully intended to do these things—heck, they were numbers 1-3 on my list, for crying out loud—and then, somehow, I just forgot.  And am I ever steamed now that I have started remembering all the things I have forgotten to do. For example, it completely slipped my mind that my husband and I were going to the beach early next month, and consequently, I forgot to lose weight. (I did, however, remember to eat a giant bag of peanut M&Ms, so now I have to remember to pack my collection of tasteful muumuu ensembles for day and evening wear.)

It’s the same situation with the independently wealthy thing. Somehow I simply forgot to do it. This morning as I was struggling to stretch my double-digit checking account balance to cover a triple-digit credit card bill, I had a sudden “aha” moment wherein I exclaimed aloud, “Oh, shoot, I forgot to be filthy rich!” How could that have happened, I wondered?  Had I, at some point in the past—a time I no longer recall, of course—rejected being filthy rich as a worthy goal? Had I, at some earlier time, also determined that being the ruler of several small nation states had too big a downside for me? I was pondering these questions quite seriously when I saw this post on my friend’s Facebook page that seemed to explain it all:

Wow, what a revelation! This explains everything, I thought. Never had I consciously rejected any of my original goals in favor of others. Never had I deemed them unworthy pursuits and redirected my course. I had simply gotten distracted. Why, several times I’d been on my way to filthy richness or even zip-my-jeans thinness and then I’d started picking at my acrylic nails or sometimes the pills on my sweater and lost my train of thought.  Often for years at a time!

Oh, yes, I see it all so clearly, and now that I do, I am determined not to be distracted anymore. From here on out, it’s full speed ahead with to-do list items 1, 2 and—oh, my gosh, look, a rainbow!   Oh, I love rainbows, such pretty colors, purple is my favorite color, I have a purple umbrella in my car, I need to wash my car . . . wait, was I saying something before about “full-speed ahead”? Yeah, I think I was. What was it? Oh, never mind, I can’t remember now. I guess I’ll just enjoy the rainbow!

I obviously wrote this tongue-in-cheek (and I don’t actually have dentures…yet!), but we really do need to maintain our focus if we are going to achieve any of our goals. Pledge today to eliminate as many distractions from your life as you can and to keep heading in the direction of your dreams. And don’t forget 😉 to let me hear how you’re doing!