I had never paid attention to mailboxes until I got my license, but once I was  able to drive, those dumb things were all I could focus on!  The streets where we lived were so narrow that I was convinced I’d hit a box every time I got behind the wheel.  I became obsessed with mailboxes to the point where I was spending more time looking sideways than looking ahead.

Fast forward a few decades, and I’ve had that kind of week, obsessing over distractions.

Sometimes the way forward is lined with obtrusive “mailboxes,” many containing messages that cause us to worry or become paralyzed with fear. We take our eyes off our goals, progress slows to crawl, timely decision making becomes impossible and our path is obscured. Negativity and anxiety cause us to forget where we’re even going! We spend more time looking left and right than looking ahead!

Let’s face it, where there are roads there are going to be “mailboxes” and that includes the road of life. The question is how do we navigate through the day without losing our momentum or our sense of direction and purpose? How do we keep these “boxes” with their annoying little red flags from derailing our journey?

The answer is quite simple and is stated in the quote above.

Keep your eyes focused on your goals.

It took me a few months, but I finally managed to visually (and mentally) block out all of the mailboxes in our town. The only way I was able to do it was to stay focused on the road and where I was going; I literally ignored the boxes. I got so good at not seeing them in fact that I accidentally toppled over our neighbor’s as I was backing up one day.

Luckily, there was nothing in it.