July 7, 2025 • 26 mins
Feeling stuck, scattered, or creatively off track? In this episode, I’m sharing the 7 D’s of distraction—seven sneaky ways we lose focus on our dreams without even realizing it. Distractions aren’t always loud. Sometimes they show up as quiet whispers, gently pulling us away from what matters most.
Using a simple self-rating tool, I’ll help you gently name what’s really pulling your attention away. Because when you can name it, you can change it.
You’ll leave with more clarity, to help you refocus your energy and get back to what truly matters. Grab your favorite beverage, a pen and notebook—this one’s part reflection, part mini-workshop, and all encouragement for you and your dreams.
HERE ARE 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
1️⃣ Awareness is the antidote to autopilot.
Noticing what’s really pulling your attention is the first step to reclaiming your energy and focus. You can’t shift what you haven’t named.
2️⃣ Not all distractions are digital.
Sometimes it’s self-doubt, emotional noise, or even too many dreams at once that keep you stuck. The sneaky ones are the hardest to catch—but the most powerful to shift.
3️⃣ Simply pause.
Stopping to ask, “What’s going on here?” can be the tiny reset that realigns you with your dreams. Clarity begins with curiosity, not control.
Check out all my coaching and course offerings - Coachcarlene.com
MORE FROM ME
Follow me on Instagram: @coach_carlene
SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If you loved this episode, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your support helps me reach more dreamers who need these insights. 🎙️ Thanks for tuning in to the Distracted Dreamer Podcast! See you next week!
FOLLOW NOW
Also, if you haven't done so already, follow the podcast. I'm adding episodes every week, and if you're not folllowing, there's a good chance you'll miss out. Follow now!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 3 (00:01):
You're never too busy, too tired, too old, or too
anything to pursue your dreams.
Welcome to the DistractedDreamer Podcast, where you'll
learn how to move all thosenever ending distractions aside
and chase your dreams withconfidence.
Carlene (00:22):
Well, hello.
Hello my friend.
Welcome back to the DistractedDreamer podcast.
I'm your friend and hostCarlene, and today we're talking
about, uh, you guessed atdistractions, specifically the
kind that sneak in when you'retrying to do something brave or
something creative or somethingjust for you.
(00:43):
So I've come up with seven typesof distractions that we have
actually already talked about inprevious episodes, but with a
different twist.
And just for fun, today we'reframing today's distractions
with the letter D.
Why?
Well, because alliteration, it'sfun and also because it turns
out a surprising number of ourdistractions really do start
(01:06):
with the letter D.
But before we dive into thelist.
I want to say this, awareness iseverything, and sometimes the
most powerful thing that we cando is to just stop mid scroll,
mid spiral, mid sigh, and ask,what's really going on here?
(01:26):
What's truly pulling myattention away?
Because distractions, they'renot always obvious and they're
rarely just about what's on thesurface.
So much of what pulls us offcourse, it isn't the distraction
itself.
It's the fact that we don't stopto question the distraction.
We kind of follow the tugwithout asking why and
(01:49):
awareness.
It invites us to look under thehood and name what's happening.
And when we name it, we take thefirst step toward choosing
instead of defaulting toreacting, and we return to being
intentional.
So I just want you to know thisis not about fixing or forcing
(02:09):
anything.
This episode is about you gentlychecking in with yourself and
making some space to respondfrom a place of clarity and
kindness.
So first, I want you to noticewithout judgment, because that
is the first step to gettingclear and to ultimately regain
your creativity because that'sreally what your dreams deserve.
(02:34):
So think about this episode kindof as a mini workshop where
you're gonna uncover yourbiggest distractions.
Here's how this is gonna work.
So get out a pen and paper, andfor each distraction that we
talk about, write down what thedistraction is, and then what
you're gonna do is you're goingto rate how big of an impact
(02:55):
that distraction has on you andyour dreams right now.
We're gonna keep this supersimple.
We're gonna use a scale from oneto five.
You're gonna rate it a numberone, if the distraction has
little or no impact on you andyour dreams or.
It could be a five, meaning itis a huge distraction to you.
(03:15):
So based on your assessment,you'll start to see which
distractions need a little moreattention, and where you can
begin to gently refocus yourenergy again.
And the best part of this is youcan do a deep dive on each of
these seven distractions bylistening to a prior episode of
the Distracted Dreamer that Iwill guide you to.
(03:35):
So with this new awareness ofhow the distraction is impacting
you, I promise you'll hearsomething very different after
getting this clarity today.
So are you ready?
We're gonna take a little tourthrough what I'm calling the
seventies of distraction, andyou might recognize a few of
these in your own life and maybeyou might be dancing with all
(03:57):
seven, whatever it is, just behonest with yourself and we will
go from there All.
The first distraction, youguessed it, are devices, right?
All the buzzing, the pinging,the endless scrolling devices
are our ever present companions.
They're the tools that we love,but they're the tools that
(04:18):
sometimes run the show.
And let me, let me just ask youthis.
Does this ever happen to you?
You pick up your phone to checkthe weather before heading out
for a walk, and then anotification pops up and you're
down the rabbit hole of emailsor placing that Amazon order or
answering a text.
I have to tell you, this happensto me all the time.
(04:39):
I struggle to even remember whyI picked up my phone in the
first place, because it'sliterally 30 minutes later after
saving a reel about organizingmy pantry, which, let's be
honest, I was never going to dothat.
Oh, and then I forwarded mydaughter three reels on how
amazing it is to be a grandma.
And I had forgotten about theweather entirely.
(04:59):
Our phones don't just distractus when we're on them.
It impacts our motivation andenergy for the rest of the day.
So tell me, take a minute hereand just think about this.
On a scale from one to five, onebeing, no, this is not a problem
for me at all, to five is like,oh my gosh, this happens to me
(05:20):
constantly.
I know this is getting in myway.
I.
So on a scale of one to five,how much are your devices
distracting you from your dreamsright now?
Just take a minute.
You probably knew that rightaway.
I, I have a feeling a lot of usare at like four or five with
that.
And what most of us don'trealize is that if you kick the
(05:41):
habit of getting sucked intoeverything on your phone first
thing in the morning, there aresome real long-term benefits to
it.
First, it improves yourattention and concentration.
And the ability to tackle allthe challenging tasks with much
greater ease throughout yourday.
The second thing is it increasesyour motivation.
(06:02):
When you don't get on that phonefirst thing in the morning, you
will maintain higher levels ofmotivation throughout the day,
which obviously leads to betterproductivity and you
accomplishing what you set outto do.
So if this device distractionreally resonates with you, go
listen to episode 24.
It's called Own Your Day partone for Morning Habits that
(06:25):
boost energy, focus, andmotivation, where I dive into
the science explaining how ourbrains are altered and not for
the good when we start our dayon our phones.
There are also some great tipsin that episode on how to manage
this distraction for yourself.
So go check it out.
And, you know, you can alwaystry out the more obvious hacks
(06:46):
like setting some sacred dreamtime, like a short window with
your device on do not disturb,and see what ideas surface when
your mind has some room towander.
Another tool is you can use theapp blockers or gray scale mode
to give yourself some focustime.
You could also considerdesignating one tech-free zone
(07:07):
in your home, meaning that whenyou're in this room, there are
no phones, no devices, but Ithink you'll get the biggest
bang for your buck by going backto episode 24.
Because when you understand whatis happening to your brain, it
is gonna change your motivationto change that distraction.
Okay, distraction number two.
(07:27):
Is doubt right?
This one just lives in the mind.
All these wonderful thoughtsthat we have.
It's that voice that whispers,who are you to try this or, I'm
not good enough, or just, heck,I'm not enough.
And that doubt it masquerades asit's like reason or something,
as it's like it's protecting us.
But really it's just fear.
(07:48):
And I had a client one time andshe was on the Verge.
She was always on the verge oflaunching her coaching website,
but she kept tweaking the layoutand her about page and all the
stuff.
And when we really talked aboutit, she admitted she was afraid
that she would be bombarded withclients and she doubted that she
could handle the success.
(08:11):
So doubt had convinced her.
That the delay was about design,but really it was about a fear
of being seen.
Another example would be when Istarted this podcast, I doubted
anyone would listen or I fearedif they did, they would hate it,
and I just didn't wannadisappoint people.
So on a scale from one to five,again, how much is doubt getting
(08:33):
in your way right now?
How much do you doubt yourselfwhen it comes to your dreams?
Remember a number one is, uh,not at all, doubt is not in my
life.
And a number five is like, Ooh,yeah, this is a big part of, uh,
how I'm thinking about things.
Okay, let's take a quick secondand just talk about what
(08:56):
self-doubt really is.
Well, first, let's clear up whatit is.
Not.
Self-doubt is not a feeling.
Fear and uncertainty arefeelings.
Doubting yourself is what you dowhen you feel fear or you feel
unworthy, or you feel uncertain.
So you see, self-doubt is ahabit.
It's an actual action.
(09:18):
I.
It's an action in self-doubt.
It keeps you very busy up inyour head.
You're very busy creating worstcase scenarios.
You're busy overthinking.
You're busy coming up with allthe things that you think you
need to do before you can do thething that you know you want to
or should do.
And by reframing that self-doubtas a habit or an action or a
(09:41):
choice, guess what?
You can stop it.
You can replace the habit ofself-doubt with another action.
So if doubting yourself isdistracting you, go check out
episode 18.
The habit of self-Doubt.
Why you keep second guessingyourself and you'll learn about
(10:01):
the three different self-doubtmind traps.
And you'll be able to identifywhich mind trap you're stuck in
and how to get out of it.
I've even gone as far as tocreate a quiz for you to help
you identify what your go-toself-doubt mind trap is, or in
other words, what are your go-tobehaviors that have become
habits when you doubt yourself.
(10:23):
For all of you doubters outthere, go check out episode 18.
Moving on to number three andnumber three.
This might not be the best wordfor this, but it was a D Um, so
this is what I came up with.
I'm calling it drama.
Because sometimes it's not ourown drama or our own storm that
we're caught in.
(10:43):
It's somebody else's, you know,the emotional whirlwinds or
relationship tension or justbeing highly sensitive to the
energy around us.
I know I am a highly sensitiveperson.
Anybody else out there in HSPIgot you.
And I can tell you I once foundmyself unable to write for days
because.
I got caught up in a friend'sconflict.
(11:05):
I wasn't part of the conflict,but I was her confidant in it.
And I had gotten pulled intothis vortex of texts and late
night calls, and I really,really wanted to help.
But I let the chaos of thatsituation, it kind of just like
cancel on my creative energyentirely.
So tell me on a scale from oneto five.
(11:25):
How much is other people's dramaor the emotional noise affecting
your creative energy?
How much is it distracting youon a scale to one to five, five?
It's like, wow, this is a bigdeal in my life.
I need to get a handle on this.
Or number one, Nope, thisdoesn't show up at all.
(11:46):
Now there are a couple toolsthat I just wanna give you, in
addition to the episode that I'mgonna share with you.
But if you are feeling this inyour life, I want you to
remember that you can alwayspause and you can ask yourself
this question.
And I ask myself this questionall the time.
And that question is, is thismine to carry?
(12:08):
Because it can be challenging tolet go, especially if you're an
empath.
I'm an empath, and you naturallyfeel other people's pain.
You have to make sure thatyou're not carrying other
people's pain and suffering tothe point where it's impacting.
You living your life.
(12:29):
So protecting your dream,sometimes it means kinda having
to gently step out of thatnoise.
Another thing that you can do isyou can try and set some energy
boundaries, and maybe that meansyou're muting a chat thread or
you're setting a time limit onthe emotional check-ins, or when
(12:49):
you're just checking in on otherpeople, or answering when
they're pinging you.
But the bigger question here is,is think about this, like, what
if you could toss out everythingthat's draining you?
What if you could create spacefor all the things that that
bring you energy, clarity, andfocus?
What if you could set thoseboundaries?
(13:11):
Well, if you're ready to makespace for what really matters to
you and to silence the drama, Ithink you would really enjoy
episode 13, letting Go andLeaning in Brain Friendly Habits
for 2025.
I can tell you I did thisepisode and it really helped me
focus on what I wanted formyself.
This year we're halfway throughthe year.
(13:33):
If you didn't get to listen tothis episode at the beginning of
the year, this is a great timeto go revisit that and get
yourself reset.
Okay?
The fourth type of distraction.
Is deadlines, you know, theadministration of life, all your
work tasks, all the familyto-dos, they all come with
(13:54):
clocks ticking loudly in thebackground.
Right?
And when you're on a deadline,your dream project, it feels
like an indulgence.
And I remember being a young momand telling myself when things
slow down, yep, when the girlsare away at college someday,
I'll start that podcast.
(14:14):
Someday I'll write that book.
Someday I'll start playing pianoagain.
And I gotta tell you, everyseason of life has its own
unique busyness.
And I was using that busyness asan excuse to not work on my
dreams.
And honestly, one of the hardestthings I've had to learn is to
build some deadlines for dreamsinto my daily plans.
(14:36):
But it makes all the difference.
Do you feel like you have towait until life slows down,
until your entire to-do list isdone until no one needs you
anymore to work on your dreams?
So on a scale from one to fiveagain, how much do deadlines and
responsibilities keep pushingyour dreams to the side?
(14:58):
On a scale of one to five?
Five is like, yep.
All the time.
It's right here in my face.
One is like, no, I got a goodhandle on this.
Okay.
A couple practical tools beforeI give you the episode is
instead of thinking, oh, all ornothing, like, oh, I gotta like
go all in on my dream.
Try just taking 10 minutes withyour journal to journal about
(15:21):
your dreams, or take fiveminutes to sketch something or
write one sentence for yournovel, right?
Our dreams, they can live in themargins.
It's about staying connected tothem.
Another practical tool is to usesome time blocking to carve out
a small but consistent space foryour dream, even if it's just
once a week.
(15:42):
To, to journal or to strategizeabout something or to, to write
that one sentence.
But if you really wanna get ahandle on this episode three,
how to fit your dreams into yourbusy life.
Stop waiting for the right time.
This is your must listenepisode.
In the episode, we uncover thesecret to fitting your dreams
(16:02):
into your current life.
Without quitting your job orneglecting your
responsibilities, you'lldiscover how to do a time audit,
how to use the 15 minute rule,and how to stack habits to make
daily progress no matter howbusy you are.
And this episode will help youovercome the myth that your
dreams have to wait because thetruth is you can start today.
(16:26):
Okay, we are on number five.
The fifth kind of distractionthat is out there.
It's desire, and this is asneaky one.
It's about us wanting too manythings at once.
You know when your brain justgoes.
Oh my God.
I have all these great ideas,the new hobbies, the new
business ideas, every book onyour list.
(16:46):
You want it all right now, andit's exciting.
And it's overwhelming, and thisis my Achilles heel, the number
of books I have that I justnever get to.
Why do I keep getting more?
Well, because it's exciting.
It's something new.
And then there's stuff in mybusiness that I'm so excited
about creating, like buildingthe Dream Studio, membership
(17:08):
community, like updating mywebsite with my podcast.
Like running a couple workshopsthis summer.
Then there's the vacations Iwanna take and the list goes on.
And wanting all these thingsisn't bad.
It's dreaming.
Dreaming is healthy for us andit's a fun place to be until the
overwhelm sets in and I end updoing none of it.
(17:30):
Can you relate to that?
So on a scale from one to five,again, how overwhelmed are you
by your own curiosity and allthe ideas coming at you all at
once and wanting it all rightNow?
How is desire impacting yourdreams and distracting you from
being able to focus on onething?
(17:55):
Okay.
A couple comments I wanna makejust before I introduce the
episode that you can listen tofor this one is, I want you to
remember that not every ideaneeds to be acted on.
Let's some of them stay in thedream stage, right?
Curiosity is allowed to beincomplete.
The other tool.
(18:15):
I'm saying this one, like, uh,yeah, this is a great tool, but
the, there's one word in herethat I don't like is, someday is
like you can keep a somedayjournal, a place to store your
ideas for future you that youcan revisit during your low
energy times.
It's just, we have to be carefulnot to someday ourselves to
death.
Someday is a good place to bewhen you're overwhelmed with
(18:37):
your dreams and desires.
It's not a great place to bewhen you're using someday as
procrastination.
So just a little heads up onthat.
But where you're really gonnamake some progress is if you
tune into episode two.
You dreams matter, even if youdon't achieve them.
This is your permission.
Slip to dream for dream's sake,here's a little snippet from
(19:01):
episode two.
We've all grown up believingthat the ultimate goal in life
is to achieve our dreams.
I was always taught you mustfinish what you start, but
here's the truth.
Your dreams aren't necessarilythere for you to achieve them.
Sometimes they serve a differentpurpose.
Your dreams are there to giveyou direction, to help you grow
(19:24):
and to teach you about yourself.
They are about the process, notthe finish line.
When you focus only on achievingthe dream, you can easily miss
the excitement and the growththat happens along the way.
If all your beautiful creativeideas are overwhelming you, you
must go back and listen to thisepisode.
(19:44):
Okay?
The sixth type of distractionthat we have, it's called
disorder.
You know, that pile of laundry,the cluttered desk or the mental
chaos.
A messy space can mirror a messymind or vice versa.
Now I can't function when mydesk is buried under journals,
mail, post-it notes, and halffinished projects.
(20:05):
I have to clear the space toclear my head because the
disorder.
Or the disorganization.
It's a huge distraction and Ithink this is one of the most
common distractions we thinkabout is our physical
environment, and it really isone of the easiest ones for us
to control.
Like do a clean sweep and puteverything on your desk in a
(20:26):
pile outta sight and deal withit after you've had your
creative work time.
It really shifts everything forme.
So on a scale from one to fiveagain, how much does physical or
mental clutter get in your wayCreatively?
How distracting is that for youright now?
The disorder on a scale from oneto five.
(20:50):
Like I said, a couple tools hereI already told you about, tidy
one corner or just clearing somephysical space.
Clears the emotional space too.
You could also create adedicated creative space, even
if it's like a tray or a chairor even a ritual like lighting a
candle that signals that it'sfocus time.
But if you're really ready for adeep dive, then don't miss
(21:12):
episode 23.
It is called My Easy Four StepProcess to declutter your life
and focus on your dreams.
A spring cleaning guide to clearmental clutter, reclaim your
time, and reset your goals.
And in this episode, I'm walkingyou through the four steps that
I use to clear out the noise.
We're talking about clearingphysical, mental, and emotional
(21:34):
clutter.
Reclaiming your time andresetting your goal so you can
finally create space which trulymatters to you, your dreams.
Okay, we have made it to numberseven.
The seventh and finaldistraction is Drift, drift,
D-R-I-F-T.
And this one is subtle.
(21:56):
It's when we lose our way, notthrough crisis, but through slow
disconnection.
We forget what we were reachingfor.
Sometimes we have that naggingfeeling in life.
Like, is this it?
Is this all there is?
Maybe you feel like you're onautopilot, like you drive to
work, you bring your lunch, yousit in a cubicle, you chat with
(22:17):
coworkers, you do some tasks,you go home, have dinner.
And repeat.
And we get so buried under theday-to-day doldrums that we're
just moving mindlesslydisconnected through our to-do
lists.
It's like we're experiencingsome kind of dream amnesia.
So on a scale from one to five,how much are you feeling
(22:38):
disconnected from your originalcreative spark, or goal or
dream?
It's a big distraction.
Drift is a big distraction.
How is it showing up for you?
On a scale one to five, okay?
You can reconnect with yourdreams and desires by listening
to episode eight, four Signs.
(23:00):
You could be betraying yourdreams, and we talk about four
signs that could be telling youthat you're losing sight of your
dreams.
And I have felt all of these atmultiple times in my life and I
had no idea they were signsabout my dreams.
So go check that one out.
Okay, so which of the seven D'sor the seven distractions is
(23:20):
getting the better of you rightnow?
Is it devices?
Is it that phone?
Well schedule some time tolisten to episode 24.
Own your day part one Formorning habits that boost
energy, focus, and motivation,or.
Is the distraction of doubtgetting in your way?
Well, you're gonna wanna diveinto episode 18, the habit of
(23:43):
self-doubt.
Why you keep second guessingyourself?
How about drama?
Where did that show up on yourscale?
You might enjoy episode 13,letting go, and leaning in
Brain-Friendly Habits for 2025.
How about deadlines?
Oh.
Yep.
You are gonna want to listen toepisode three, how to fit your
(24:06):
Dreams into your busy life.
Stop waiting for the right timeis your must Listen episode, how
about desire?
All those wonderful ideas you'rehaving tune into episode two.
Your dreams matter.
Even if you don't achieve them,is your permission slip to dream
for dream's sake.
(24:27):
And the sixth distractiondisorder.
How did that show up?
Well, if that's a big one foryou, then you do not wanna miss
episode 23, which is my easyfour step process to declutter
your life and focus on yourdreams.
A spring cleaning guide to clearmental clutter, reclaim your
time, and reset your goals.
And then this very subtle final.
(24:50):
Distraction of drift.
If you're ready to reconnectwith your dreams and desires,
listen to episode eight, fourSigns.
You could be betraying yourdreams.
Now remember, you are not wrongor broken for being distracted.
You're human.
It is a noisy world, my friend,and the first step is taking
(25:12):
back your focus and your dreams.
And the first step to takingback your focus in your dreams
is being aware of what's pullingyour attention.
And I wanna know what did youuncover as your biggest
distraction today?
Send me a text at the link inthe show notes.
I want to know, I want to hearfrom you.
(25:35):
So if you have a friend that youthink would find this valuable,
would you please share it withthem?
And if you've ever loved thispodcast.
Will you please give me areview?
As you know, reviews really makea difference for podcasters and
I rarely ask for them, but I'dbe forever grateful if you like
this podcast and you can leave areview and let me know what you
(25:57):
think.
Alright, my sweet friend Thankyou so much for being here with
me today.
And remember your dreams.
They are waiting for you andyour time.
It's now and I'll be back nextweek.
Ready to welcome you to our nextconversation.
Oh, and one more thing.
(26:17):
This is the legal language.
You know, the stuff that thelawyers put together, and they
say that I need to read this toyou.
So here we go.
This podcast is presented solelyfor educational and
entertainment purposes.
I'm just your friend.
I'm not a licensed therapist.
This podcast is not intended asa substitute for the advice of a
(26:38):
physician, professional coach,psychotherapist, or other
qualified professionals.
Got it?
Good.
I will see you in the nextepisode.
You're never too busy, too tired, too old, or too
anything to pursue your dreams.
Welcome to the DistractedDreamer Podcast, where you'll
learn how to move all thosenever ending distractions aside
and chase your dreams withconfidence.
Carlene (00:22):
Well, hello.
Hello my friend.
Welcome back to the DistractedDreamer podcast.
I'm your friend and hostCarlene, and today we're talking
about, uh, you guessed atdistractions, specifically the
kind that sneak in when you'retrying to do something brave or
something creative or somethingjust for you.
(00:43):
So I've come up with seven typesof distractions that we have
actually already talked about inprevious episodes, but with a
different twist.
And just for fun, today we'reframing today's distractions
with the letter D.
Why?
Well, because alliteration, it'sfun and also because it turns
out a surprising number of ourdistractions really do start
(01:06):
with the letter D.
But before we dive into thelist.
I want to say this, awareness iseverything, and sometimes the
most powerful thing that we cando is to just stop mid scroll,
mid spiral, mid sigh, and ask,what's really going on here?
(01:26):
What's truly pulling myattention away?
Because distractions, they'renot always obvious and they're
rarely just about what's on thesurface.
So much of what pulls us offcourse, it isn't the distraction
itself.
It's the fact that we don't stopto question the distraction.
We kind of follow the tugwithout asking why and
(01:49):
awareness.
It invites us to look under thehood and name what's happening.
And when we name it, we take thefirst step toward choosing
instead of defaulting toreacting, and we return to being
intentional.
So I just want you to know thisis not about fixing or forcing
(02:09):
anything.
This episode is about you gentlychecking in with yourself and
making some space to respondfrom a place of clarity and
kindness.
So first, I want you to noticewithout judgment, because that
is the first step to gettingclear and to ultimately regain
your creativity because that'sreally what your dreams deserve.
(02:34):
So think about this episode kindof as a mini workshop where
you're gonna uncover yourbiggest distractions.
Here's how this is gonna work.
So get out a pen and paper, andfor each distraction that we
talk about, write down what thedistraction is, and then what
you're gonna do is you're goingto rate how big of an impact
(02:55):
that distraction has on you andyour dreams right now.
We're gonna keep this supersimple.
We're gonna use a scale from oneto five.
You're gonna rate it a numberone, if the distraction has
little or no impact on you andyour dreams or.
It could be a five, meaning itis a huge distraction to you.
(03:15):
So based on your assessment,you'll start to see which
distractions need a little moreattention, and where you can
begin to gently refocus yourenergy again.
And the best part of this is youcan do a deep dive on each of
these seven distractions bylistening to a prior episode of
the Distracted Dreamer that Iwill guide you to.
(03:35):
So with this new awareness ofhow the distraction is impacting
you, I promise you'll hearsomething very different after
getting this clarity today.
So are you ready?
We're gonna take a little tourthrough what I'm calling the
seventies of distraction, andyou might recognize a few of
these in your own life and maybeyou might be dancing with all
(03:57):
seven, whatever it is, just behonest with yourself and we will
go from there All.
The first distraction, youguessed it, are devices, right?
All the buzzing, the pinging,the endless scrolling devices
are our ever present companions.
They're the tools that we love,but they're the tools that
(04:18):
sometimes run the show.
And let me, let me just ask youthis.
Does this ever happen to you?
You pick up your phone to checkthe weather before heading out
for a walk, and then anotification pops up and you're
down the rabbit hole of emailsor placing that Amazon order or
answering a text.
I have to tell you, this happensto me all the time.
(04:39):
I struggle to even remember whyI picked up my phone in the
first place, because it'sliterally 30 minutes later after
saving a reel about organizingmy pantry, which, let's be
honest, I was never going to dothat.
Oh, and then I forwarded mydaughter three reels on how
amazing it is to be a grandma.
And I had forgotten about theweather entirely.
(04:59):
Our phones don't just distractus when we're on them.
It impacts our motivation andenergy for the rest of the day.
So tell me, take a minute hereand just think about this.
On a scale from one to five, onebeing, no, this is not a problem
for me at all, to five is like,oh my gosh, this happens to me
(05:20):
constantly.
I know this is getting in myway.
I.
So on a scale of one to five,how much are your devices
distracting you from your dreamsright now?
Just take a minute.
You probably knew that rightaway.
I, I have a feeling a lot of usare at like four or five with
that.
And what most of us don'trealize is that if you kick the
(05:41):
habit of getting sucked intoeverything on your phone first
thing in the morning, there aresome real long-term benefits to
it.
First, it improves yourattention and concentration.
And the ability to tackle allthe challenging tasks with much
greater ease throughout yourday.
The second thing is it increasesyour motivation.
(06:02):
When you don't get on that phonefirst thing in the morning, you
will maintain higher levels ofmotivation throughout the day,
which obviously leads to betterproductivity and you
accomplishing what you set outto do.
So if this device distractionreally resonates with you, go
listen to episode 24.
It's called Own Your Day partone for Morning Habits that
(06:25):
boost energy, focus, andmotivation, where I dive into
the science explaining how ourbrains are altered and not for
the good when we start our dayon our phones.
There are also some great tipsin that episode on how to manage
this distraction for yourself.
So go check it out.
And, you know, you can alwaystry out the more obvious hacks
(06:46):
like setting some sacred dreamtime, like a short window with
your device on do not disturb,and see what ideas surface when
your mind has some room towander.
Another tool is you can use theapp blockers or gray scale mode
to give yourself some focustime.
You could also considerdesignating one tech-free zone
(07:07):
in your home, meaning that whenyou're in this room, there are
no phones, no devices, but Ithink you'll get the biggest
bang for your buck by going backto episode 24.
Because when you understand whatis happening to your brain, it
is gonna change your motivationto change that distraction.
Okay, distraction number two.
(07:27):
Is doubt right?
This one just lives in the mind.
All these wonderful thoughtsthat we have.
It's that voice that whispers,who are you to try this or, I'm
not good enough, or just, heck,I'm not enough.
And that doubt it masquerades asit's like reason or something,
as it's like it's protecting us.
But really it's just fear.
(07:48):
And I had a client one time andshe was on the Verge.
She was always on the verge oflaunching her coaching website,
but she kept tweaking the layoutand her about page and all the
stuff.
And when we really talked aboutit, she admitted she was afraid
that she would be bombarded withclients and she doubted that she
could handle the success.
(08:11):
So doubt had convinced her.
That the delay was about design,but really it was about a fear
of being seen.
Another example would be when Istarted this podcast, I doubted
anyone would listen or I fearedif they did, they would hate it,
and I just didn't wannadisappoint people.
So on a scale from one to five,again, how much is doubt getting
(08:33):
in your way right now?
How much do you doubt yourselfwhen it comes to your dreams?
Remember a number one is, uh,not at all, doubt is not in my
life.
And a number five is like, Ooh,yeah, this is a big part of, uh,
how I'm thinking about things.
Okay, let's take a quick secondand just talk about what
(08:56):
self-doubt really is.
Well, first, let's clear up whatit is.
Not.
Self-doubt is not a feeling.
Fear and uncertainty arefeelings.
Doubting yourself is what you dowhen you feel fear or you feel
unworthy, or you feel uncertain.
So you see, self-doubt is ahabit.
It's an actual action.
(09:18):
I.
It's an action in self-doubt.
It keeps you very busy up inyour head.
You're very busy creating worstcase scenarios.
You're busy overthinking.
You're busy coming up with allthe things that you think you
need to do before you can do thething that you know you want to
or should do.
And by reframing that self-doubtas a habit or an action or a
(09:41):
choice, guess what?
You can stop it.
You can replace the habit ofself-doubt with another action.
So if doubting yourself isdistracting you, go check out
episode 18.
The habit of self-Doubt.
Why you keep second guessingyourself and you'll learn about
(10:01):
the three different self-doubtmind traps.
And you'll be able to identifywhich mind trap you're stuck in
and how to get out of it.
I've even gone as far as tocreate a quiz for you to help
you identify what your go-toself-doubt mind trap is, or in
other words, what are your go-tobehaviors that have become
habits when you doubt yourself.
(10:23):
For all of you doubters outthere, go check out episode 18.
Moving on to number three andnumber three.
This might not be the best wordfor this, but it was a D Um, so
this is what I came up with.
I'm calling it drama.
Because sometimes it's not ourown drama or our own storm that
we're caught in.
(10:43):
It's somebody else's, you know,the emotional whirlwinds or
relationship tension or justbeing highly sensitive to the
energy around us.
I know I am a highly sensitiveperson.
Anybody else out there in HSPIgot you.
And I can tell you I once foundmyself unable to write for days
because.
I got caught up in a friend'sconflict.
(11:05):
I wasn't part of the conflict,but I was her confidant in it.
And I had gotten pulled intothis vortex of texts and late
night calls, and I really,really wanted to help.
But I let the chaos of thatsituation, it kind of just like
cancel on my creative energyentirely.
So tell me on a scale from oneto five.
(11:25):
How much is other people's dramaor the emotional noise affecting
your creative energy?
How much is it distracting youon a scale to one to five, five?
It's like, wow, this is a bigdeal in my life.
I need to get a handle on this.
Or number one, Nope, thisdoesn't show up at all.
(11:46):
Now there are a couple toolsthat I just wanna give you, in
addition to the episode that I'mgonna share with you.
But if you are feeling this inyour life, I want you to
remember that you can alwayspause and you can ask yourself
this question.
And I ask myself this questionall the time.
And that question is, is thismine to carry?
(12:08):
Because it can be challenging tolet go, especially if you're an
empath.
I'm an empath, and you naturallyfeel other people's pain.
You have to make sure thatyou're not carrying other
people's pain and suffering tothe point where it's impacting.
You living your life.
(12:29):
So protecting your dream,sometimes it means kinda having
to gently step out of thatnoise.
Another thing that you can do isyou can try and set some energy
boundaries, and maybe that meansyou're muting a chat thread or
you're setting a time limit onthe emotional check-ins, or when
(12:49):
you're just checking in on otherpeople, or answering when
they're pinging you.
But the bigger question here is,is think about this, like, what
if you could toss out everythingthat's draining you?
What if you could create spacefor all the things that that
bring you energy, clarity, andfocus?
What if you could set thoseboundaries?
(13:11):
Well, if you're ready to makespace for what really matters to
you and to silence the drama, Ithink you would really enjoy
episode 13, letting Go andLeaning in Brain Friendly Habits
for 2025.
I can tell you I did thisepisode and it really helped me
focus on what I wanted formyself.
This year we're halfway throughthe year.
(13:33):
If you didn't get to listen tothis episode at the beginning of
the year, this is a great timeto go revisit that and get
yourself reset.
Okay?
The fourth type of distraction.
Is deadlines, you know, theadministration of life, all your
work tasks, all the familyto-dos, they all come with
(13:54):
clocks ticking loudly in thebackground.
Right?
And when you're on a deadline,your dream project, it feels
like an indulgence.
And I remember being a young momand telling myself when things
slow down, yep, when the girlsare away at college someday,
I'll start that podcast.
(14:14):
Someday I'll write that book.
Someday I'll start playing pianoagain.
And I gotta tell you, everyseason of life has its own
unique busyness.
And I was using that busyness asan excuse to not work on my
dreams.
And honestly, one of the hardestthings I've had to learn is to
build some deadlines for dreamsinto my daily plans.
(14:36):
But it makes all the difference.
Do you feel like you have towait until life slows down,
until your entire to-do list isdone until no one needs you
anymore to work on your dreams?
So on a scale from one to fiveagain, how much do deadlines and
responsibilities keep pushingyour dreams to the side?
(14:58):
On a scale of one to five?
Five is like, yep.
All the time.
It's right here in my face.
One is like, no, I got a goodhandle on this.
Okay.
A couple practical tools beforeI give you the episode is
instead of thinking, oh, all ornothing, like, oh, I gotta like
go all in on my dream.
Try just taking 10 minutes withyour journal to journal about
(15:21):
your dreams, or take fiveminutes to sketch something or
write one sentence for yournovel, right?
Our dreams, they can live in themargins.
It's about staying connected tothem.
Another practical tool is to usesome time blocking to carve out
a small but consistent space foryour dream, even if it's just
once a week.
(15:42):
To, to journal or to strategizeabout something or to, to write
that one sentence.
But if you really wanna get ahandle on this episode three,
how to fit your dreams into yourbusy life.
Stop waiting for the right time.
This is your must listenepisode.
In the episode, we uncover thesecret to fitting your dreams
(16:02):
into your current life.
Without quitting your job orneglecting your
responsibilities, you'lldiscover how to do a time audit,
how to use the 15 minute rule,and how to stack habits to make
daily progress no matter howbusy you are.
And this episode will help youovercome the myth that your
dreams have to wait because thetruth is you can start today.
(16:26):
Okay, we are on number five.
The fifth kind of distractionthat is out there.
It's desire, and this is asneaky one.
It's about us wanting too manythings at once.
You know when your brain justgoes.
Oh my God.
I have all these great ideas,the new hobbies, the new
business ideas, every book onyour list.
(16:46):
You want it all right now, andit's exciting.
And it's overwhelming, and thisis my Achilles heel, the number
of books I have that I justnever get to.
Why do I keep getting more?
Well, because it's exciting.
It's something new.
And then there's stuff in mybusiness that I'm so excited
about creating, like buildingthe Dream Studio, membership
(17:08):
community, like updating mywebsite with my podcast.
Like running a couple workshopsthis summer.
Then there's the vacations Iwanna take and the list goes on.
And wanting all these thingsisn't bad.
It's dreaming.
Dreaming is healthy for us andit's a fun place to be until the
overwhelm sets in and I end updoing none of it.
(17:30):
Can you relate to that?
So on a scale from one to five,again, how overwhelmed are you
by your own curiosity and allthe ideas coming at you all at
once and wanting it all rightNow?
How is desire impacting yourdreams and distracting you from
being able to focus on onething?
(17:55):
Okay.
A couple comments I wanna makejust before I introduce the
episode that you can listen tofor this one is, I want you to
remember that not every ideaneeds to be acted on.
Let's some of them stay in thedream stage, right?
Curiosity is allowed to beincomplete.
The other tool.
(18:15):
I'm saying this one, like, uh,yeah, this is a great tool, but
the, there's one word in herethat I don't like is, someday is
like you can keep a somedayjournal, a place to store your
ideas for future you that youcan revisit during your low
energy times.
It's just, we have to be carefulnot to someday ourselves to
death.
Someday is a good place to bewhen you're overwhelmed with
(18:37):
your dreams and desires.
It's not a great place to bewhen you're using someday as
procrastination.
So just a little heads up onthat.
But where you're really gonnamake some progress is if you
tune into episode two.
You dreams matter, even if youdon't achieve them.
This is your permission.
Slip to dream for dream's sake,here's a little snippet from
(19:01):
episode two.
We've all grown up believingthat the ultimate goal in life
is to achieve our dreams.
I was always taught you mustfinish what you start, but
here's the truth.
Your dreams aren't necessarilythere for you to achieve them.
Sometimes they serve a differentpurpose.
Your dreams are there to giveyou direction, to help you grow
(19:24):
and to teach you about yourself.
They are about the process, notthe finish line.
When you focus only on achievingthe dream, you can easily miss
the excitement and the growththat happens along the way.
If all your beautiful creativeideas are overwhelming you, you
must go back and listen to thisepisode.
(19:44):
Okay?
The sixth type of distractionthat we have, it's called
disorder.
You know, that pile of laundry,the cluttered desk or the mental
chaos.
A messy space can mirror a messymind or vice versa.
Now I can't function when mydesk is buried under journals,
mail, post-it notes, and halffinished projects.
(20:05):
I have to clear the space toclear my head because the
disorder.
Or the disorganization.
It's a huge distraction and Ithink this is one of the most
common distractions we thinkabout is our physical
environment, and it really isone of the easiest ones for us
to control.
Like do a clean sweep and puteverything on your desk in a
(20:26):
pile outta sight and deal withit after you've had your
creative work time.
It really shifts everything forme.
So on a scale from one to fiveagain, how much does physical or
mental clutter get in your wayCreatively?
How distracting is that for youright now?
The disorder on a scale from oneto five.
(20:50):
Like I said, a couple tools hereI already told you about, tidy
one corner or just clearing somephysical space.
Clears the emotional space too.
You could also create adedicated creative space, even
if it's like a tray or a chairor even a ritual like lighting a
candle that signals that it'sfocus time.
But if you're really ready for adeep dive, then don't miss
(21:12):
episode 23.
It is called My Easy Four StepProcess to declutter your life
and focus on your dreams.
A spring cleaning guide to clearmental clutter, reclaim your
time, and reset your goals.
And in this episode, I'm walkingyou through the four steps that
I use to clear out the noise.
We're talking about clearingphysical, mental, and emotional
(21:34):
clutter.
Reclaiming your time andresetting your goal so you can
finally create space which trulymatters to you, your dreams.
Okay, we have made it to numberseven.
The seventh and finaldistraction is Drift, drift,
D-R-I-F-T.
And this one is subtle.
(21:56):
It's when we lose our way, notthrough crisis, but through slow
disconnection.
We forget what we were reachingfor.
Sometimes we have that naggingfeeling in life.
Like, is this it?
Is this all there is?
Maybe you feel like you're onautopilot, like you drive to
work, you bring your lunch, yousit in a cubicle, you chat with
(22:17):
coworkers, you do some tasks,you go home, have dinner.
And repeat.
And we get so buried under theday-to-day doldrums that we're
just moving mindlesslydisconnected through our to-do
lists.
It's like we're experiencingsome kind of dream amnesia.
So on a scale from one to five,how much are you feeling
(22:38):
disconnected from your originalcreative spark, or goal or
dream?
It's a big distraction.
Drift is a big distraction.
How is it showing up for you?
On a scale one to five, okay?
You can reconnect with yourdreams and desires by listening
to episode eight, four Signs.
(23:00):
You could be betraying yourdreams, and we talk about four
signs that could be telling youthat you're losing sight of your
dreams.
And I have felt all of these atmultiple times in my life and I
had no idea they were signsabout my dreams.
So go check that one out.
Okay, so which of the seven D'sor the seven distractions is
(23:20):
getting the better of you rightnow?
Is it devices?
Is it that phone?
Well schedule some time tolisten to episode 24.
Own your day part one Formorning habits that boost
energy, focus, and motivation,or.
Is the distraction of doubtgetting in your way?
Well, you're gonna wanna diveinto episode 18, the habit of
(23:43):
self-doubt.
Why you keep second guessingyourself?
How about drama?
Where did that show up on yourscale?
You might enjoy episode 13,letting go, and leaning in
Brain-Friendly Habits for 2025.
How about deadlines?
Oh.
Yep.
You are gonna want to listen toepisode three, how to fit your
(24:06):
Dreams into your busy life.
Stop waiting for the right timeis your must Listen episode, how
about desire?
All those wonderful ideas you'rehaving tune into episode two.
Your dreams matter.
Even if you don't achieve them,is your permission slip to dream
for dream's sake.
(24:27):
And the sixth distractiondisorder.
How did that show up?
Well, if that's a big one foryou, then you do not wanna miss
episode 23, which is my easyfour step process to declutter
your life and focus on yourdreams.
A spring cleaning guide to clearmental clutter, reclaim your
time, and reset your goals.
And then this very subtle final.
(24:50):
Distraction of drift.
If you're ready to reconnectwith your dreams and desires,
listen to episode eight, fourSigns.
You could be betraying yourdreams.
Now remember, you are not wrongor broken for being distracted.
You're human.
It is a noisy world, my friend,and the first step is taking
(25:12):
back your focus and your dreams.
And the first step to takingback your focus in your dreams
is being aware of what's pullingyour attention.
And I wanna know what did youuncover as your biggest
distraction today?
Send me a text at the link inthe show notes.
I want to know, I want to hearfrom you.
(25:35):
So if you have a friend that youthink would find this valuable,
would you please share it withthem?
And if you've ever loved thispodcast.
Will you please give me areview?
As you know, reviews really makea difference for podcasters and
I rarely ask for them, but I'dbe forever grateful if you like
this podcast and you can leave areview and let me know what you
(25:57):
think.
Alright, my sweet friend Thankyou so much for being here with
me today.
And remember your dreams.
They are waiting for you andyour time.
It's now and I'll be back nextweek.
Ready to welcome you to our nextconversation.
Oh, and one more thing.
(26:17):
This is the legal language.
You know, the stuff that thelawyers put together, and they
say that I need to read this toyou.
So here we go.
This podcast is presented solelyfor educational and
entertainment purposes.
I'm just your friend.
I'm not a licensed therapist.
This podcast is not intended asa substitute for the advice of a
(26:38):
physician, professional coach,psychotherapist, or other
qualified professionals.
Got it?
Good.
I will see you in the nextepisode.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.