Learning to tune things out is important to your joy and progress.



## Self Aware and Polite

It seems that we are less self aware these days than ever before.  I remember my parents, especially my dad, trying to help me see how we shouldn't impose upon or get in the way of other people.  For example, we shouldn't hold up the line, stand in the middle of a busy hall, or take lots of time with something when someoone else is waiting for a turn.

In this society, however, we don't seem to stress this very much.  At least this politeness is not a norm.  We're more self indulgent, so we'll often do something at the expense of others.  This can lead to being improper or disruptive around others.  When you're trying to enjoy things or get something done, this can be a problem.  Since society doesn't seem to want to impose much proper behavior on anyone, we're going to need to become better at tuning things out if we're to find joy or progress in some activities.

## The Open Hall

Yesterday I was at a short musical recital.  It was free to the public, and a small group had gathered together to listen to some great music in a large music hall.  I sat near the back.  I was listening, and then I noticed the woman seated a few rows in front of me kept looking off the side.  I realized that she kept looking over at a group of people that were sitting, apparently enjoying the music, but chatting and gesturing.  The sibilant sound of their whispering was echoing in the hall.  She was distracted, and now so was I.  But the music was profound and inspiring, and I sought mentally to re-engage in the experience in front of me.

## The Open Office

Have you ever sat at your desk, enthralled in the flow of a great idea coming to fruition, only to be side-tracked by a conversation that drifted your way and caught your ear?  You cringe because it's interesting enough that you want to participate, but you can feel the mental path before you crumbling as you lose track of those abstractions in your head and lose orientation.

In an age where we're the worst at it, it seems that we need it the most.  We need focus.  We need to learn to tune out the distracting and disagreeable.  We want to accomplish something with our time and enjoy our experiences fully.  We can practice focus in order to avoid letting distractions ruin it for us or get us off track.  

Tune things out, focus, have real experiences, and show real outcomes in your life.

What do you do to tune out the distracting and stay focused?

Learning to tune things out is important to your joy and progress.

self-mastery