Tuning Out the World

Sometimes, we get really focused on something. Maybe it's a project we're working on, or an interesting novel. At times, we get so 'in the zone', we fail to notice the world around us. Today's post is about some prime examples of this.

My brother was once walking while reading a book, and ran into a tree.

Once as a child, I was wandering across the playground with my nose in a book. At some point, I heard one of the boys suddenly burst into laughter. Confused, I looked up from my book and asked him what was so funny. To which he replied, "You were walking along, and three balls soared over your head, and you didn't even notice." 

Believe me, if I had known I was in danger of being brained by flying sports equipment, I would have reacted. I've been known to automatically duck when I see the shadow of a ball.

Someone was once so focused on a task, she walked past the living room without noticing that a new couch had been added to said room. Prior to this, she didn't even own a couch. An hour later, her mother called, and was confused about her lack of enthusiasm.

During NaNoWriMo, in which writers are challenged to write 50,000 words in November, one person reported that she would sometimes forget to eat. Luckily, she now has a spouse who reminds her to tear herself away from her manuscript occasionally.

Someone was once concentrating on what they were working on, and people spent about ten minutes trying to get her attention and talk to her.

A person working an ice skating rink was so focused on sharpening a skate, they didn't notice that everyone else had left. They ended up having to close up the rink by themselves.

My friend would often read on her phone when she had free time in class. At times, she would completely tune out everything else. I joked that if there was a fire, and everyone was screaming and panicking and running around in a frenzy, she would just sit there and read, oblivious to the chaos around her. In fact, her hair could be on fire, and she still wouldn't look up from the chapter she was on.

The class was going over questions on an assignment we had done. There was a specific question I was waiting for, and I was doodling in the meantime. A discussion arose over one of the other questions, and after a while, I sort of tuned out the conversation because it didn't apply to me.

A bit later, the teacher called me out on drawing instead of paying attention. "I'm waiting for question 40." I said.

"We just did that one." the teacher replied, disgruntled.

Oops.

Okay, this is technically fiction. But in this scene from the TV series 'Gilmore Girls', one of the characters gave a terrific example of being oblivious to one's surroundings. (Story starts at 3:24.)