"The hope you give parents is nothing short of a miracle"
FOCUS ON ONLY NOW SOMETIMES…Douglas Silas
8th June 2026 
Today, I want to talk about how focusing solely on the present may not always be a smart strategy. It's essential to prevent distractions from affecting you when you need to focus, but sometimes, to prevent yourself from being distracted more, you actually need to allow a brief distraction!
We often hear people say that we need to be present, be mindful, or only live in the moment. However, whilst this is sound theoretically, trying to adhere practically to this without fail, can be both exhausting and counterproductive. Your mind needs space to breathe, plan, and imagine, and being trapped entirely in the present sometimes prevents you from building something worthwhile for tomorrow. Yes, the moment now is important, probably quite profoundly, but you can't focus all the time. Balance is crucial in these situations. You have to do your best to position yourself where you can focus without losing perspective, but you also have to allow yourself to be distracted by something that will benefit you in the long run. Here are some examples: 1. You may be focused on deep work when a brilliant idea strikes you. It's vital to jot it down quickly before diving back in, as this allows you to develop that idea properly later, when you have the mental space to do it proper justice. 2. You might find worries about the next week surfacing, whilst you are concentrating on something else. You need to write them down and release them. Knowing that you've captured them helps clear your mind to settle properly into the present again. 3. You may be in a meeting, when personal ideas surface, or relaxing with family, when work ideas appear, both out of context. You need to capture them quickly if possible and then rejoin the moment, genuinely, to unburden yourself. You must also do this without guilt, mental clutter, or distraction. Some argue that this kind of approach weakens true presence or mindfulness. That's fair enough, but in my experience, balance, as I've described, works better than extremes, as you won’t achieve anything without focus, but you also won't achieve anything, without allowing yourself to drop out of focus sometimes. So today, try to remember that true focus means respecting both now and later equally; neither trumps the other. Ultimately, remember that sometimes you must not only focus on now, but sometimes you must also focus only on something else! With good wishes
Douglas 
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