The Election-In-The-Home-Stretch Distraction From Our Work

A new distraction from our work just hit: The Election-In-The-Home-Stretch. Okay, we made up the name. But it's here in any case.

As with all distractions from diligently pursuing the duties of our state of life, we need to counter this one. But to effectively do that, let's recognize first its features. 

First of all, the election is national, rather than local. That means that anyone in the country will be pushed and pulled by the media coverage, their personal politics, and those with whom they communicate on any and every level.

It's not like company politics, or various events that take place in your workplace. These are typically localized and involve only you and your work colleagues. For example, the boss left or got fired and a new boss took his or her place. That's probably one of the biggest. But another is the constant jockeying for advantage in advancing up the corporate ladder (if you're in a bigger company) that typically requires a set of political skills: not only keeping your superiors happy with your work, but actively cultivating them to be your advocate in your ambitions.

And this national election thing isn't like family distractions that may be the most powerful, especially when there's are serious matters going on with your loved ones. The worst of these - a death in the family - hits hard and sometimes fast. And it naturally can waylay us for at least a few days, if not longer. When our oldest adult child died from a massive stroke, keeping my focus on my work was perhaps the greatest challenge I've ever faced in my work life. But moving down the scale, there are just so many things that happen in families that can cause our minds to wander as we try to tackle our daily tasks.

We can add here friends and neighbors (at least those whom you actually know and have some social interactions with). While not quite at the level of beloved family members. if folks with whom we share some degree of affection come upon difficult times, we can't help but be affected.

And let's not forget two electronic/digital sources of distraction: the news and social media. So many of us are "hooked" into these sources of purported important information of "personal" interaction these days. The bigger players here: Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Tik-Tok. Of all the above these are perhaps the most consistent and insistent. 

(It still boggles the mind to realize how many of us spend oodles of time with these bad boys.)

Compared to all the above, national elections are mere pikers. They only come up ever four years (every two if you count congressional elections). But as the actual election approaches, you almost can't get away from them.

From now until election day - and likely days or even weeks after - our senses and brains will somehow, some way be assaulted by the myriad of messages sent out to grab our attention, ultimately to grab our vote. And there will be no shortage of reasons why we "must" not only pay attention, but take deadly seriously the election of this or that candidate.

Heck, Elon Musk famously came out and told us all that we had to vote for his candidate if we wanted to preserve civilization as we know it. And just when I had shaken off the all the previous riffs on this theme that tend to crop up with every national election in recent memory. Darn!

So why bring all this up? Just this: Be aware and take counter-measures.

We already should have some sort of discipline to avoid and/or quell distractions when we're being paid to pay attention to the tasks of our daily work. (If not, consider developing the habit of disregarding distractions like this, especially when it comes to work.)

Bringing all this up is simply a kind of public service to warn us Catholic men at work of this quadrennial event. Awareness of what's coming (or likely has already taken hold) allows us to prepare and resist.

Our work is simply too important to allow any and all comers to cause us to flag in diligently attending to it and completing our tasks with (as Father Willie puts it) fervor and exactness. 

And that goes in spades for the Election-In-The-Home-Stretch distraction that will - if we're not vigilant - undermine our working for the greater glory of God, the welfare of our families, the benefit of our clients and customers, and the common good.