How long can the average person stay focused before getting distracted and jumping to something like texting or social media? According to some studies, about five minutes. Sadly, those numbers were obtained under laboratory settings in which college students were instructed to concentrate on something important. If you own a smartphone, chances are, you check it 150 times each day (approximately every six and a half minutes). We’re so distracted that we’re literally walking into things. Squirrel! The number of people who have been hospitalized for walking into a stationary object while texting has tripled since 2004!
Don’t get me wrong; smart phones are not the enemies here. I am just as guilty as the next person for constantly checking my phone. However, it’s studies like this that seem to indicate the world’s scarcest commodity is our attention span.
Here’s the point: our cups are overflowing with entertainment and distractions, yet deep down, we’re all thirsting for something that truly quenches. There must be more to life than this, we reason. Yet many, if not most people, are so busy and distracted with what’s right in front of them that they don’t do anything about it. Far too often, we choose the urgent things over the important things.
“And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
During this Lenten season, make an extra effort to ditch the distractions and focus on the important things.
Brian C.
Brian has been a Teleios group member since 2012 and is a member of the Teleios Board of Directors.