Picture this.
You’re grabbing a coffee at Starbucks, and you run into an acquaintance you haven’t seen in awhile.
You exchange the polite “How are you doing?”
“Oh busy, as usual, you know, always busy.” Is the generic response from both of you.
You both share how you’re busy, and it’s great to see one another, and we should grab a coffee soon once things settle down both knowing that things are not likely to slow down anytime soon.
That four-letter word has struck again.
BUSY.
Let’s face it; we are all always busy. We have families, jobs, friends, homes, lives to maintain and manage.
There is so much “busy-ness” that we hide behind it. When we haven’t made time to connect with that acquaintance/friend we can hide behind the fact that we’re busy and have had a lot going on. And, it’s true. Sometimes life is just more full than other times. We may have a new baby or a new job. Lots of kids activities going on.
Legitimately, our days may be so full we have to pick and choose and be intentional about our time. We need to create time and space for what matters. We may not make the time to connect with everyone we want to on a regular basis. That is part of adulting. Responsibilities and priorities.
But what would happen if we decided to remove the word busy from our vocabulary? No more “Oh, I’ve just been so busy.”
Instead of, “How was your day?” “BUSY!”
Try replying, “We had a full day of activities.”
How do you feel? Maybe your day really was busy, but what if we change that word to ‘full’ or ‘whole.’
We naturally crave connections and one way to connect is to feel like we’re all busy. But we don’t have to perpetuate the exasperation of being so busy. Chicken with your head cut off busy. Your words become your actions which become our feelings.
Try eliminating the word ‘busy’ from your everyday vocabulary. See how you feel. The way we speak and act translate into the way we feel. If we stop saying we’re busy (even if we really are busy) maybe we won’t feel so frazzled, crazed, and overall busy. While you’re at it, treat yourself to an S.O.S. Getaway. 🙂
Being busy is an epidemic in our society. It’s valued. We give it power. If we aren’t busy are we productive? Yes.
Let’s take back the power from being busy and collectively ban the word busy from our vocabulary.
