A disturbance is like when you’re building a tower with blocks, and suddenly someone comes and knocks it over. Your focus was on making the tower tall and strong, but the interruption made it fall. It changes what you were doing and makes you start over or fix it.
Think of a pond that is very still and quiet. When you throw a stone into the water, it makes waves and ripples. The stone is the disturbance. It changes the calm water into a moving one, and it takes time for the water to settle back down.
Imagine you’re listening to your favorite song, and someone turns on a loud vacuum cleaner. The vacuum noise is a disturbance because it interrupts the music and makes it hard to hear.
Picture a garden with beautiful flowers. If a big dog runs through, the flowers might get squished. The dog is the disturbance, changing the peaceful garden into a messy one.
Disturbances are like surprises that change what we expect, and they can happen in many different ways.