Unfucking Midlife
Unfucking Midlife with Ashley Kelsch
Unfucking the Hijack: What Getting Distracted is Actually Costing You
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Unfucking the Hijack: What Getting Distracted is Actually Costing You

The everyday distractions that seem normal are hijacking more than your time—they're costing you your peace, progress, and power

Sometimes it takes a pair of defective pants to reveal a pattern that's been hijacking my life for years. In this episode, I get brutally honest about the 10 distractions that used to completely derail my focus—and share the simple tools that finally helped me build mental "armadillo dividers" to stay in my lane.

From revenge emails to toxic friendships, business comparison obsessions to dating drama forensics, these everyday distractions seem normal because so many of us engage in them daily.

But they're costing us way more than we realize: our peace, our progress, and our power to create meaningful change.


In This Episode:

My 10 Biggest Hijacks (And Why They Don't Work Anymore):

  1. Dating and relationship drama - The forensic analysis of every text and emoji

  2. Phone gossip marathons - Hours of complaining without any progress

  3. Consumption spirals - The mental gymnastics around alcohol, food, and social media

  4. Business comparison obsession - Stalking other people's success stories

  5. Shiny object syndrome - Every new business idea feeling like "the one"

  6. Injustices of the world - Getting worked up about things beyond my control

  7. Going after people who wronged me - Building cases and scheming for justice

  8. Crafting the perfect revenge email - Hours writing emails I'd never send

  9. Toxic friendships - Relationships that enable drama instead of growth

  10. Spinning energy in all directions - Scattered effort that feels busy but isn't productive

The Real Cost

  • How these distractions hijack more than time—they steal peace and progress

  • Why the need to be "right" often makes you the one who loses

  • The hidden price of staying stuck in these patterns for decades

4 Practical Solutions When Distractions Pop Up:

  1. Watch yourself and your mind - Notice when you're getting pulled into spirals

  2. Put it on paper - Bullet point (don't journal) for 5-10 minutes, then turn it over to the universe

  3. Honor feelings while obeying priorities - You can acknowledge upset AND get back to work

  4. Question what you're making it mean - Choose thoughts that serve you better


Key Quotes:

"I had to be right. I had to win. Not realizing that I'm actually the one losing—losing sight of myself, my time, and mostly my peace."

"These pants did show me this behavior that has not served me for decades. God knows that has cost me way more than the money I spent on these pants."

"Your mind does mature in midlife. It's not that we get smarter, it's that we stop wasting energy on things that don't move our lives forward."

"Is this moving me toward what I want or away from it? That's a very valuable question."


Share This Episode:

If this episode hit you right in the feels, do me a favor and share it. Send it to that friend who's constantly getting hijacked by drama, or post it in your stories and tell people why it resonated. When you share these conversations, you're helping other women realize they're not alone in getting distracted by life's everyday chaos.

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Listen or Watch:

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Today's Episode is Supported By:

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