Undistracted: Capture Your Purpose. Rediscover Your Joy.

by Bob Goff

Why do we torture ourselves when things go wrong in big and small ways? Why do we aggregate all our little mess-ups and tuck them into the secret places of our hearts and the memory vaults in our minds for long-term storage?

If you are like most people, I bet you remember way more mistakes you have made than your successes along the way.

“I’ve missed more than nine thousand shots in my career. I’ve lost almost three hundred games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

J. K. Rowling lived in poverty as she spent seven years finishing the Harry Potter series, which was rejected by twelve publishers.

If you believe you are a failure because you failed at something, you won’t get to the things that matter.

Grace never seems fair until you need a little.

What do you think your life is worth to God? A dollar? A million dollars? How about a billion dollars? To Him, there are not enough zeros to estimate the value of you.

It’s time we stopped acting like our failures somehow disqualify us from God’s love, when in reality these setbacks might lead to a keener awareness of it.

We forego our purpose when we fake it in our relationships to safeguard a false feeling of safety.

Why wasn’t I just honest about what I was feeling?

But instead of being real, I faked it. Being less than authentic didn’t come totally from a place of pride for me in that instance, and I bet it doesn’t for you all the time either.

If we want to go deeper in our relationships, we can’t go shallow with our authenticity.

that becoming real is to become “brave, truthful, and unselfish.”

Collecting more information about life and even about God is safe because it can create an illusion of progress, but it doesn’t make us any more real.

I’m not telling you to discount information completely; just know that it will not get you where you need to go all by itself. In fact, merely collecting information, analyzing it, and endlessly tweaking plans can become a form of distraction, a type of procrastination from your real life.

To become more human, you have to undertake the brave wor...

Try this: Be completely authentic with one person today.

Snorkelers stay in the top few feet of the surface in their conversations. Shipwreck divers go as deep as it takes to find the treasure. I promise that if you’ll explore what lies below all the surface talk, you’ll find some forever friendships—and when you do, you will discover joy and perhaps even your faith all over again.

Don’t be discouraged or distracted if you have a couple of relational setbacks on the p...

It doesn’t mean you are lousy with people. It means you are learning,...

Another key to becoming more authentic is being plainspoken about the facts and details of your life.

Don’t spin the events of your life or assume everything you say or do has to be ready for a press release.

Be kind but a little unkempt; speak the truth as you see it; risk saying out loud what you really think without running everything through a public relations filter first.

When you let your real self out, you will attract the people who like how you uniquel...

Those are the ones who long for a real relationship with a person like you, not a relationship with a version of yo...

If you want to clear the distractions from your life, give away acts of unselfish love. Do things without drawing any attention or taking a bow. Jesus told His f...

Make loving people its own reward without looking for approval or applause. Make unselfish acts of kindness as ...

If we are going to access the most powerful, impactful life available, we have to get ruthless about the obstacles getting in our way.

How much energy are you wasting constructing an imaginary world you hope will protect you? Are you trying to control all the outcomes and hedge against the massive amount of uncertainty God has baked into life? Are you trading who you really are for a caricature of who you are?

Simply put, the next version of you can decide not to let the past push you around anymore.

He is still extending this invitation to us: to drop our preconceived notions and the layers of protection we have ensconced ourselves with, whether they be religion or social status or money.

Jesus cut straight to the heart of the matter; He constantly removed the distractions that kept people from seeing Him for who He really was; and when they did see Him, they found love and deeper purpose.

Live in a state of constant anticipation of finding a new gear and a better response than you’ve had in the past.

Live an intentionally surprised life.

As you journey forward, a couple of good things will come your way, and a few bad ones too. Don’t be too quick to respond with a bunch of assumptions about what will happen next.

See unexpected circumstances as surprises, and what seems like disappointment will become an invitation.

Some people let disappointments turn into distractions.

Stop thinking about how unfair life can be, and turn the letdowns into lessons and the disappointments into determination.

When we encounter setbacks, we get to decide to be the kind of people who get busy—not bitter—and start moving in another direction.

Building a case against other people when they decline your offers and availability will only distract you. Go with obedience instead. It will outperform recognition every time.

Because the truth is, God knows exactly what He’s doing, and He is never surprised.

Disappointments don’t make you a victim; they prove that you are a participant, and participation is what we are called to—not success or job titles or acknowledgment.

You can pivot anytime you want, knowing ultimately that the affirmation and validation you may crave can only come from God.

If something doesn’t go your way, don’t get sour. Get creative. Counteract your disappointment with imagination and joy and vision and hard work. You’ll find a way to make good on your beautiful intentions later.

Don’t be distracted by delays. Instead, start counting on them, banking on them, embracing and enjoying them. Don’t curse the wind; let it fill your sails.

When the inevitable happens, resist giving God a list of your grievances. Instead, take inventory of what you’ve already got and what is already adjacent to you.

We didn’t wait for permission to pivot from our beautiful failing vision to one that was viable; we got busy finding a possibility next door.

You can bet your life on this: Your daring ideas and the disappointments you experience will be catnip for new opportunities and additional paths forward toward your lasting ambitions—if only you will have the courage not to relent.

If you knew everything you needed to do, you wouldn’t need faith anymore. Practice not freaking out as you watch the unexpected circumstances God brings unfolding in front of you.

Don’t be fooled into thinking everything that happens to you is a cosmic battle between good and evil. The author G. K. Chesterton famously said, “Idolatry is committed, not merely by setting up false gods, but also by setting up false devils.”