Busyness
We think we’re busy because of external reasons but it’s really an inside job. Have you noticed how busy everyone is? Or are you too busy to notice the busyness?
For most of us who live in a society that glorifies productivity, work and being busy has become our identity. As a matter of fact, we don’t even question being busy. We’ve grown accustomed to our busyness being a badge of honor. The fact that our culture and the companies we work for validate busyness confirms that we’re living in good company.
What’s curious is that busyness can start from external forces, such as our jobs and the roles that we play in our lives, yet it is really an inside job.
Busyness becomes a story that we tell ourselves, and then we live into this narrative.
Consider these explanations that contribute to being busy:
I get things done.
I make things happen.
They need me.
Only I know how to do it.
I have to do it.
They expect me to do it.
I don’t want to miss out.
Once we adopt any of these narratives, life begins to show up for us in this way. We then mistakenly think that being busy is driven by external forces and is out of our control. In truth we’ve told ourselves a story that we live into, which contributes to our sense of overwhelm.
Questioning our busyness may lead us to answers that we don’t really want to know:
If we slow down, we might have to face a reality that we’ve been avoiding.
If we slow down, we might have to face a sense of meaningless and that’s frightening.
Being busy allows us to avoid our inner critic and our inner task master.
Being busy gives us the drama and heightened stimulus that we need to feel alive.
If you’re tired of feeling frayed, fragmented, disconnected or always behind, perhaps it’s time to question your busyness and ask yourself, “What am I really reacting to?” “Where is this busyness coming from?”
Looking inside, rather than outside, may help you to understand the ways in which you inhabit your world. Consciously questioning your busyness can offer another way to respond to life.
With practice, you may even find that the things you think may fall apart by not being busy may actually lead to something better.
