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FOCUS AND FIND YOUR HAPPY

Can Being Distracted Make You Happier?

How losing your focus may mean losing your joy

Jennifer McDougall
Find Your Happy
Published in
4 min readJul 18, 2024

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Can focusing on a task bring more joy to your life? Photo by Chase Clark on Unsplash.

I was thinking about a current situation with my son wh…

“Squirrel!”

I can’t seem to help it. Does it happen to you, too? You’re doing — or thinking about— one specific task, and suddenly, well, suddenly, you’re just not.

Human brains are machines built to embrace distraction. According to researcher and scientist Dr. Amishi Jha the ability to pay attention to multiple undertakings is what has helped us as a species to survive.

“The early humans who toggled in and out of focus, those who got distracted and looked up every now and then — pulled out of their task by a wandering mind — were the ones who realized they were in danger and acted appropriately, surviving to pass on their (distractible) genes.” Dr. Amishi Jha

It helps us avoid a saber tooth tiger, sure, but does it make us happy? Or even slightly happier?

Why do I even ponder this?

What makes me question the role distraction could play in enhancing happiness has to do with my nearly adult child and his recent breakup. I’m watching him navigate what happens when two years of a…

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Find Your Happy
Find Your Happy

Published in Find Your Happy

Find your happy. Make it happen. Joy, gratitude, and funny amongst the sucky crap life tosses at you.

Jennifer McDougall
Jennifer McDougall

Written by Jennifer McDougall

Attempting Serious and Satire... Sometimes successful.

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