We humans, often spend a significant amount of time on things that really don’t matter. We have a hard time seeing things for what they really are. We find a little something to grasp onto and then turn it into a big ordeal and sometimes falling short on the good stuff.
We give it our energy, attention and our precious time. We analyze it and consume our selves with worry. Some things can become our whole world at times, blinding us of what truly matters.
Society is “busy,” even though we are living in a time where everything is more convenient than it’s ever been. Information is easy to attain and tools and resources are plentiful. What are we so busy doing?
A couple years ago, I found myself asking that very question, After I had reached a point of burn out. Why am I so busy? I felt stretched in every direction and just simply “busy.” I explored how I was spending my time and it confirmed, yup, I had a full plate, but a full plate of what?
When I looked at these things, many of them were typical things like being a mom and taking care of a household, I was also running a business and helping my husband run his. There was no denying I had a lot of shit to do.
I was curious if there was a way to eliminate some things, somehow, someway. As I looked at what I could potentially take off my plate, I found very few things. Even though everything we do is a choice, a lot of these things I had committed myself to and I thought I wanted to do at the time.
When I looked closer, I could see these things for what they were, without thoughts attached….just a simple schedule. It was do-able. I was doing it on a daily basis and I even figured as much as I had on my plate, there was still free time. I started thinking, “this isn’t so bad, why do I feel so rushed and busy?”
I realized it wasn’t the actual things I spend my time doing, it was the momentum of thoughts that would begin each day around the things I needed to do. I wasn’t busy, my mind was busy. My mind felt rushed, and even when I was able to squeeze in free time, my thoughts would still consume me.
The “busy” can be an illusion. It can look and feel like overwhelm and that’s exactly what I was experiencing. An already anxious person with a perfectionist type personality and when it came to a lot of my tasks, it caused massive, mind consuming worry and eventually burn out.
I believe a lot of society is experiencing the same thing. That its a feeling of busy vs actually being too busy.
I think we want to stay busy in a healthy way, just like when I looked at what I was spending my time doing, I didn’t want to eliminate much. I wanted to spend time doing those things, but I wanted to find a way to do them but without the mind chatter and worry.
I also realized how quickly I would get side tracked and allow my mind to get caught up in little obstacles. At the end of each day, in hindsight, I would spend a significant amount of time in the unforeseen things that would pop up daily vs staying with my initial intentions. (Another great topic for another day, the power of saying “no”.)
It’s common for us to use our free time on things that can take us out of the mind wrenching experience, like watching tv, for example. It has a numbing effect, pausing the mind for a little break before we go right back at it.
I’m an introverted person, and I prefer laser focus. When I am into something, I’m all in. Life these days, demands a lot of multi-tasking, and I learned, it just isn’t for me. I am much better off giving something my all and then moving on to the next thing and giving it my all. But that’s way easier said, than done, right?
I still have not mastered this, but I’m always working towards it. It’s been like a “side project” -mastering the art of time management. Even the awareness around how we are spending our time and getting real with ourselves with what really matters, is a step in the right direction.
As time went on, through holding this concept in my awareness, I discovered something else, the seeking of fulfillment. Striving for it, really. “If I can just perfect this one thing over here.” “If I can just get this, I’ll have that.” The overbearing thoughts and worry were desperation for fulfilment -seeking.
Once I realized this, I starting seeking in a different way. I started intentionally seeking. I knew that, even if I could quiet my mind some, have healthier thoughts and complete my to-do list each and everyday, something was still missing. There was still a void that needed to be filled.
When we listen and when we realize there’s always growth among the contrast in life (such as feeling too busy,) there’s a message in there, a cry for something, a longing for something new to be discovered and born. What is trying to emerge?
It may be the desire to spend more time and focus on something you’re already doing or something brand new. We can choose to stay in the hustle or we can re-centre, quiet the mind and listen enough to transform that struggle into fulfillment.
Give yourself full permission to break free from “busy” and delegate your time and energy in a way that contributes to a more meaningful life journey.
I believe, the feeling of “too busy” means we are off course to what our soul is longing for -out of alignment.
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