— I tuned in late to our ZOOM meeting and explained, "Sorry I'm late. I got sidetracked."
— When I saw her, I felt guilty because I hadn't turned in my report. Sheepishly I said, "I meant to turn it in this morning, but my cousin called telling me her son lost his job. I was distracted by her story and got sidetracked."
— "People have no idea of the difficulties I'm facing. When things are going well, something unexpected always pops up and I get sidetracked by some little annoying problem I must deal with."
One of the most often used excuses in life is, "I got sidetracked." When talking to others, people use it to explain a provocative diversion that deters them from performing as expected. Generally this often-used comment is meant to influence others to overlook the inconvenience or complications from being sidetracked. The hope is that empathy will prevail because getting sidetracked has happened to everyone at one time or another. However, it doesn't always have the desired effect even though it is offered apologetically. I had a teacher who said, "Being early is on time. Being on time is late. And being late is unacceptable." She did not accept the lame excuse of being sidetracked nor was she empathetic.
How does one get sidetracked? Usually it's unintentional as one pursues what seems to be the next step. This can happen in a variety of situations. Here are three examples: First, I've been in meetings where the person in charge says, "Let's stay on topic and not get sidetracked. Going down this rabbit trail is a waste of time." Second, cleaning the house can lead to being sidetracked. It may be a normal task like washing dishes, but it turns into rearranging your socks. Third, organizing your desk may lead to organizing your garage.
Just the other day I found myself getting sidetracked while doing some research. I'm teaching a World Religion course at a community college and I wanted to comment that King Solomon (the wise rich guy in the Bible) built a temple for God. This led to research on how truly rich he was and how he got to be that way. Incidentally, did you know that if he were alive today, his net worth would be 2.2 TRILLION! He IS THE richest man who has ever lived on this earth! I then had to search out details about all his possessions as well as investigating everything he wrote. Can you imagine how one thing led to another and I got way off base? By the way, this is just an introductory course! Needless to say, I definitely got sidetracked. I think you'll agree that that was rather excessive! However, I'm sure you can come up with personal examples of when you were sidetracked. That might include anything related to social media and the Internet, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. You might find yourself aimlessly bouncing from one site to another. Whether you're relating to friends via in-person, Texting, Messenger, Snap, Chat, Facebook or simple phone conversations, it's easy to get sidetracked.
I would like to pose this question: Is being sidetracked a blessing or a curse? What things have you overlooked and discovered as a result of getting sidetracked? What adventures have you experienced as a result of getting sidetracked? Was it worth it? What would being sidetracked by God look like in your life? Would you be able to make time to fit in what God would like you to do? That's a rabbit trail definitely worth investigating, so hop to it!