How to achieve Self-Mastery by avoiding distractions.

I have a saying, "Distractions detour dreams"! I’ve been thinking a lot about distractions lately and how one distraction that takes up our time can detour us from building our dreams. At this point on my journey, my goal is to achieve self-mastery by avoiding distractions.

Over the past year, I was able to write my fourth plant-based cookbook, “Eat Right 4 Your Zodiac”, getting it into Target stores, Barnes & Noble, and onto Amazon!

I launched a successful podcast, The Hermitess Podcast show which already has its first seven episodes streaming.

I went on the news here in Las Vegas

Signed two product promotion contracts

Redesigned and launched my new website

All of this was done while healing my broken heart over my soulmate. My sweet rescue dog Rodger who had passed away last May.

This was made possible due to the elimination of distractions!

At the height of my cyber stalking harassment, I was receiving up to 50 robot texts and calls per day. Horrific remarks from fake accounts on my social media that I needed to tend to, all while running my online business.

Still, I remained calm while caring for and working with clients and running my social media which includes two successful YouTube channels.

By calling out the harassment publicly, I deadened the distractions. I then was able to illuminate and eliminate smaller distractions such as junk emails, wasteful time on social media, and situations that were taking up more mental time than I had to give.

You should never need to apologize for eliminating distractions. Your time is valuable! Setting healthy boundaries is a good thing.

Try Saying

• I can’t use my mental energy on this right now
• I have other things that take precedence.
• I will get back to you when I am ready to discuss this, until then please don’t contact me.
• It’s important for me to stick to a healthy routine. Please honor this by respecting my time.
• I am needing to get back to my routine, what time are you leaving. 
• I have other projects I am focused on at this time.
• I will get back to you when I have time to look at this. All of the above are musts in order to achieve Self-Mastery by avoiding distractions!

Health tips to achieve self-mastery by avoiding distractions. 

Set up an app on your phone to limit your time on social media.

Remove your apps from your phone on the weekend

Don’t turn on your phone until your morning workout and routine are finished

Create a food regimen utilizing similar yet enjoyable ingredients each day. This helps your body balance out so that no surprises arise from fatigue or lethargy.

Only check e-mail in the early mornings or evenings! This is a must to achieve Self-Mastery by avoiding distractions! E-mail is a huge distraction for many.

Gently cut people out (even if only temporarily), who are distracting and don’t understand what a healthy boundary is.

Learn to say "NO"! Stop feeling guilty. You owe no one an explanation. Your time is valuable! One will never achieve Self-Mastery by avoiding distractions if they say "yes" to every distraction!

Spiritual guidance to achieve self-mastery by avoiding distractions

• Create a schedule I do my 20 minutes of meditation every morning. I take my three-mile walk, and I write for 30 minutes. No matter what. Little by little, I have become better at maintaining this discipline. This was never possible until I began creating a weekly schedule.
• To increase focus, set a timer One of my favorite articles is by The New York Times Clifford Nass, a Stanford sociologist who conducted some of the first tests on multitasking has said that those who can’t resist the lure of doing two things at once are “suckers for irrelevancy.”
• Turn off your devices Turn off your email notifications and don’t open your email until a specified time. Turn the ringer off on your cell phone so you don’t get text or voicemail alerts. Clear your desk so that only the project you are working on is in your workspace. Put everything else out of sight.
• Set up a plan of action! For example, beginning this weekend, every weekend beginning this weekend, I'll no longer be answering E-mails. Do what feels right!
• Your words hold power! Your words become your reality. Watch what reality you create, whether you speak the words out loud or not. Listen to your words carefully! Check yourself when you hear yourself saying, “I’m overwhelmed", “I’m tired”, or “I can’t do it.”
• Create a mantra Start saying, “I have all the time I need for important matters.” This gives you far more power and hopefulness. What are your priorities? For me, it is connecting with my family on Facetime and text (they live at a distance), it's spending time with my animals, and prioritizing my health.

The bottom line here is still the same, in order to achieve Self-Mastery by avoiding distractions, you must employ the above practices. Try them and see if they make a difference.

I wish you all the love and happiness that self-discipline and effective distraction avoidance provides.