Name: Undistracted
Rating: 4.1 (391 reviews)
Author: Bob Goff

What’s in it for me? A guide to finding your focus.

Guh-guh-guh-guh-guh. If you’ve ever drifted to the side of a highway, you’ve heard that sound. It’s the noise made by rumble strips to warn inattentive drivers that they’re in danger.

Undistracted, the title we’ll be exploring in this Blink, is a metaphorical rumble strip. It’s designed to help you stop drifting: to get you back into your lane and onto your life’s true path.

What is that path? That’s for you to decide. But here’s author Bob Goff’s argument: whatever paths we choose for ourselves, we all face common obstacles. And the biggest obstacle of all is distraction.

Distraction means losing focus. Our minds wander. We forget our real goals – the things that matter most of all. That’s when we start drifting off the highway.

In this Blink, we’ll explore techniques that will help you regain focus and lean into a rich and fulfilling life. For Goff, a Christian, that life is centered on God, and lots of the stories and advice you’ll be hearing are filtered through that lens. Don’t worry if you have a different perspective, though – there’s plenty of insight here for everyone.

Distraction gets in the way of joyful living.

Life is full of uncertainty. How could it be any other way?

We enter the world helpless and the people who we rely on for everything – our parents and guardians – are pretty much amateurs. There’s no owner’s guide to raising happy, focused, successful kids, after all. Like the folks who raised them, they have to make it up as they go along.

Sometimes, they get it right; often, they don’t. We’re the products of that mishmash of triumphs and failures. The good and the bad. And then, around the age of 18, it’s suddenly up to us to weave those contrasting threads together and craft the tapestry of a life worth living.

That, too, is an ad hoc process. It’s improvised. Made up on the go. No wonder there’s usually more ambiguity than clarity, more confusion than certainty, in our lives. Thing is, though, getting those ad hoc, improvised decisions wrong can leave us miserable and broken. The stakes, in other words, are high.

It’s no surprise that we’re plagued by uncertainty and fear knowing what we do about those stakes. We anxiously watch what others are doing and wonder if we should follow in their footsteps. We worry that we’re not popular, or attractive, or rich enough to be happy. We question our choices. Our ambitions. Our partners. The advice of our parents and teachers. Oftentimes, we get downright angry and resentful.

Add all that together and you have the perfect recipe for distraction – a life that’s lacking a sense of true north. That’s unguided and feels purposeless. That’s full of stress and short on joy.

But the fact that life really is confusing – there’s no getting around that, unfortunately – doesn’t mean you’re helpless. Hiking through unfamiliar terrain is hard, especially when it’s full of terrifying ravines and tangled forests. It’s a lot harder, though, if you don’t have a map and a compass. Or, even better, a smartphone with GPS.

The real question, then, is about tools.

What’s going to help you navigate this big scary world? What’s going to help you plot your journey toward goals that really matter and ignore all the distractions around you?

Finding answers to those questions is what Undistracted is all about. So let’s dig in!

Key ideas in Undistracted

What is Undistracted about?

Undistracted (2022) is a call to arms against one of the greatest forces stopping you from living your best life: distraction. Life is full of it. The 24/7 news cycle. Your smartphone. Worrying about what your colleagues think and what your neighbors have. Endless to-do lists. All those sources of distraction get in the way of what really matters – a life filled with joy, love, and intention.

About the Author

Bob Goff is an author, public speaker, and practicing lawyer. His previous books included two New York Times bestsellers – Love Does and Everybody, Always. He’s also the founder of Love Does, a nonprofit which promotes human rights and education in global conflict zones. Goff is currently based in California.