Nothing Is Wrong With You: The Myth of Productivity Redefined With Self-Compassion
When Focus Fragments, Despite Loving the Work
Some days, even when I adore what I’m learning, my mind simply refuses to stay in one place. Today was one of those days. I sat down with every intention of immersing myself in my studies – work I genuinely love – and instead found myself drifting, fidgeting, seeking micro distractions, and feeling strangely untethered.
The Question Beneath the Distraction
For a moment, I caught myself wondering why. Why now? Why this topic? Why, when I’m so committed to my path, does my focus splinter into a thousand tiny pieces?
A Tired System, Not a Failing Mind
And then I remembered something I teach all the time but often forget to apply to myself: the mind scatters when the system is tired, overstimulated, or carrying more than it realises. It’s not resistance. It’s not a lack of passion. It’s not a failure of discipline. It’s a quiet, protective mechanism – the nervous system whispering, “I need a moment.”
The Quiet Cost of Constant Capability
As practitioners, supervisors, and humans who hold space for others, we often expect ourselves to be endlessly available, endlessly focused, endlessly capable. But the truth is that our internal landscape shifts constantly. Some days we are sharp and clear. Other days, our attention feels like a flock of birds startled into flight.
Saturation Is Not Disinterest
What I noticed today was that my scattered mind wasn’t a sign of disinterest. It was a sign of saturation. I’ve been holding a lot – emotionally, cognitively, relationally – and my system was simply asking for a softer rhythm.
Listening Instead of Forcing
When I finally paused long enough to listen, something softened. The pressure eased. And in that easing, a creative spark arrived – the very spark that led to this blog.
The Paradox of Effort and Clarity
This is the paradox I love: when we stop forcing ourselves to focus, we often find the clarity we were chasing.
Nothing Is Wrong With You
So if you’re reading this and recognising yourself – the drifting attention, the restless body, the sudden urge to reorganise your pantry instead of finishing your assignment – know this: nothing is wrong with you. You’re not undisciplined. You’re not avoiding your purpose. You’re simply human, and your system is communicating in the only language it has.
Redefining Productivity With Compassion
Sometimes the most productive thing we can do is step away for a moment. Sometimes the most compassionate thing we can do is acknowledge our limits. And sometimes, the most creative insights arrive only after we stop trying so hard.
When Distraction Becomes Direction
Today, my scattered mind didn’t derail me. It redirected me. It reminded me that focus is not a moral virtue – it’s a state that ebbs and flows with our internal weather.
And when we meet that ebb with gentleness rather than judgement, something beautiful happens: we return to ourselves, and to our work, with more spaciousness, more clarity, and more truth.
