As I contemplate wonders and new ideas in days of total complacency, I find myself almost assembling a puzzle in my mind. As I searched for proof of basic distractions in the outside world (adding people's acts as they go about their daily lives), I discovered that I was developing a new intellectual philosophy—new to me, at least—because I had given a unique spin to a frequent occurrence and molded it through my perspective. If we are a species immersed in a vibrant and stimulating environment, how is paying attention to our surroundings a weakness? It is when you are in pursuit of achievement or a goal you have set in your mind or when commencing a project like writing or building, that you will notice foreign ideas enter and refrain from leaving, therefore detaching you, forcing you with renewed vigor so you are unable to finish your original intention until much later than expected.

In terms of the various concepts I wanted to pursue, it was my early drafts of potential novels that essentially allowed me to experience my indecision and helped shape my Philosophy of Distraction. I would regularly jot down ideas and plot points, begin the first chapter, and then have a fresh, better idea flash into my head. It seems as though I assumed my initial thought was unoriginal and overall lacking innovation. Additionally, I decided to favor something novel. Author Madeline Miller said in an interview with Gregory Maguire regarding her critically acclaimed debut, The Song of Achilles that “There were moments when I would find myself straying away—I had a particular weakness for the snake-bitten archer Philoctetes—but my desire to give Patroclus his spotlight [always] pulled me back.” It is clear through this form of evidence, that we get a clear picture and understanding of her distraction from the inception of her novel to the publication of it. And while it was clear that this was a 10-year-long journey, which ironically (as I come to realize now), was just how long the Trojan War was, we can also see that life had a significant impact on her, as it pushed her in directions she may not have chosen herself. Additionally, she stated, “I need to be able to fully live inside their heads [Patroclus and Circe]… in order to write from their perspective. To do that, I spend years wandering through the story…” In addition, she started working on her drafts while pursuing her bachelor's degree and then went on to become a teacher. Also, I must add that, ironically, I was in a relatively similar circumstance in regards to ideas, but on a much greater scale, with my head spinning in prolonging.

My desire to pursue and further explore this idea is sparked by Ayn Rand's critically renowned book The Fountainhead, which explains her philosophy of Objectivism. It is how the scientists release their findings. A thought came to me that a book with the undeveloped idea of distraction as its central theme would be a good approach for me to go deeper into it with a method of inquiry: that it is a fault and not an inherent survival instinct in all living organisms and analyzing that distraction is only a weakness of the mind (going back to Miller's first statement), especially in light of how easily distracted a group can be—whether from little matters or more complicated issues like political arguments. Nobody has ever achieved complete immunity to this fault in the course of human history; a weakness that has the power to undermine a society's logical order or break one's foundation. I continue to wonder if this is not limited to minds in literature with a creative temperament but in an overall scheme of general societal behavior. Also, whether or not we should expect and anticipate distractions from ourselves or whether it is a valid justification in itself.