📱 Adulting, Distraction, and the Cost of Holding Yourself Back

Let’s be real: sometimes we just have to do the sh*t we don’t want to do. That’s part of #Adulting, as us millennials (and let’s be honest, some Gen Xers) would say. We poke fun at it with memes and videos, laugh-crying our way through the chaos of everyday life.

But those moments of humor hit because they’re true. They make us feel seen. When you scroll past that post of someone joking about crying on the floor of their laundry room or procrastinating on emails for three weeks straight, you feel comforted. You’re not the only one. Someone out there gets it. And that connection—even if it’s brief—validates your experience. It makes you feel understood, even if just for a moment.

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So here’s the question:

If you can relate to someone at their lowest…

Why is it so hard to believe you could also relate to them at their highest?

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We tend to see ourselves in other people’s struggles, but stop short of seeing ourselves in their success. Why? Because we don’t believe we’re worthy of it. We convince ourselves that the good stuff isn’t meant for us. And so, without realizing it, we block our own blessings.

But what if you chose differently—today?

A Tale of Distraction, Perfection, and Lost Potential

Here’s what most people don’t realize:

Every time you validate a belief—good or bad—you reinforce it. That’s not just spiritual talk. That’s science.

Neural pathways are formed through repetition. The more you think something, the more real it becomes in your brain. Think about when a teenager really wants a specific car—they suddenly start seeing it everywhere. It’s not magic. It’s a shift in focus.

Your mind tunes in to what you tell it is important. So when you keep thinking the same self-defeating thoughts, you stop forming new connections. You stay stuck in the same loops. No progress. No change.

And then you wonder why happiness feels so far away.

The truth is: You’re waking up every day choosing a mindset of lack. You shoot yourself in the foot before you even roll out of bed. And eventually, those self-fed doubts become the demons that swallow you whole.

What You Repeat, You Become

There’s a short story called Leaf by Niggle by J.R.R. Tolkien that captures all of this beautifully. It follows a painter named Niggle who, like many of us, is full of potential but constantly pulled away by distractions—his neighbor’s demands, his own perfectionism, and his fear of never being good enough.

Niggle spends his life aiming for perfection, but never really finishes anything. His masterpiece remains unfinished because he never fully commits to it. He keeps putting off the work that matters most—until it’s too late.

It’s a painful but relatable metaphor. How many of us are choosing distraction over traction? Procrastination over purpose? We scroll, we delay, we numb ourselves instead of sitting down and doing the thing that could feed our soul.

And the most heartbreaking part?

At the end of Niggle’s life, someone says:

“Never knew he painted.”

Imagine that.

Living your whole life in hiding.

Never revealing the most beautiful, authentic parts of yourself.

Never discovering how your journey could help someone else.

Choose to Show Up

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So here’s your invitation:

Stop waiting.

Stop assuming you aren’t ready, worthy, or capable.

You are.

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Yes, sometimes life demands that we do things we don’t want to do. But you also have the power to choose the things that move you forward. You can choose traction over distraction. Completion over perfection.

Because you never know who’s waiting for you to be fully you.

And maybe—just maybe—they need your story to help write their own.

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