SOMETIMES I JUST SIT

Oh the guilt ... as I just sit and watch the world go by. Why do I feel so guilty? Is it because everyone else's life seems to be filled with important busyness?

I caught up with a friend for a coffee the other day and we started talking, as you do, about the past week.  But to be really honest, for me to remember what I did yesterday can be a problem - sigh.  Anyway, as I listened to the highlights of her week the words came out of my mouth "Geez, you're so busy".

Her reply was a classic and one that I now use.  "My life is full", she said "And that's the way I like it" . 

Being busy – it’s a thing. I look around me at family, friends and colleagues and see their lives playing out at a hectic pace.  It seems , we’ve never been busier and we love to brag about it. Somehow, we started wearing the busy badge of honour with pride, as it transformed into this new status symbol over the years. If you ask someone how they are doing, they’ll probably say: ‘I’m good; busy. You?’ Almost as if that when you’re not busy there’s something wrong.

I've thought about this a lot.  Probably because I'm as guilty as the next person saying the I am 'busy' and then in turn missing out! Research points out people rather have you say you don’t have the financial resources instead of saying you’re too busy. With the latter, you risk coming across as uninterested or distrustful, as time tends to be seen as a more controllable resource than money. However, of course it might be best to just not use an excuse overall? And just say 'yes'.  

Time to start being honest.  So I'm going to change my rhetoric to say "I can't prioritise that at the moment" or words to that affect. Because, sometimes, we are, let's face it ... just too busy!  Or should I say ... our lives are just too full!

 

Posted by Donna Brooke on March 21, 2021