Distraction is an escape from reality

“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.” [¹]

Dissatisfaction handles our species’ advancements as much as its faults. When we get distracted, we seek to mitigate the discomfort of not knowing what to do.

Most people don’t like acknowledging the uncomfortable truth that distraction is always an unhealthy escape from reality. The drive to relieve discomfort is the root cause of all our behavior, while everything else is a proximate cause. Even when we think we’re seeking pleasure, we’re driven by the desire to free ourselves from the pain of wanting.

Play can be part of any difficult task. Though the play doesn’t have to be pleasurable, it can free us from discomfort — which, let’s not forget, is the primary ingredient driving distraction.

Deliberateness and novelty can be added to any task to make it fun. Fun is looking for the variability in something other people don’t notice. We get distracted and procrastinate to deal with the discomfort of not knowing what to do next. That’s why it is so important to align motivations with goals.

By reimagining an uncomfortable internal trigger, we can disarm it.

You can’t call something a distraction unless you know what it is distracting you from. If an internal trigger distracts you, what strategies will you use to cope the next time it arises?

Distraction is not the root cause but the consequence of unbearable fear and lack of curiosity. People are not motivated by pleasure but by removing discomfort.

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[¹]: Nir Eyal(2019): (Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life)