Sometimes to stimulate thought and conversation, I throw out a random question to my daughters. One day at lunch I asked, “If you were stranded on a deserted island, which three books would you take with you?”  I don’t remember the specifics about that conversation. But a few days ago – weeks after the original question – a unique and unexpected answer surfaced.

The girls were working on some school work when MG announced, “If I was stranded on a desert island I would take my math book.”  This was quite shocking to hear; math is not MG’s favorite subject at all! But here was her reasoning, “With nothing else to do, I could really work on it until I completely understood it.”

I thought this was very perceptive. I wondered how many goals seem to be beyond my reach merely because of the multiplicity of distractions I have in my life. How many of my efforts are “watered down” because of lack of a clear focus? It gave me something to think about.