It has been a busy few months for me, as I'm sure it has for us all. Whether you're a business owner like me, or work for someone else, or choose to be at home with children, we can all find ourselves overwhelmed at times. Times where we feel that we are just so busy, we simply cannot get everything we are supposed to do done, we don't seem to have time to catch our breath, we feel like we are on a constant treadmill and our brains are so full that it becomes very hard to think straight, and even harder to make the right decisions.
Lots and lots of us feel like this and this was me a few years ago, and to be honest, even now I go through stages where I slip back into this pattern again.
This is what I call being 'Busy being Busy' – we literally start to fill our days being busy, we constantly check our emails, research stuff on the internet, check our phones, check Facebook, decide we need to set up a new filing system, set up new ways to work, design new courses, clean the house, de-clutter rooms, working longer and longer hours etc to avoid the reality of our lives.
We are too busy to spend any time with those we love, or worse, we do spend time with them and then are not present….we answer our phones, check our emails, are totally in our heads thinking about work and other problems, we are not PRESENT with them at all. I have been guilty of this, guilty of not really listening to people as I've been so caught up with thinking about all the stuff I've still got to fit into the day, guilty of checking my emails as I might have something really important that I need to deal with straight away! I have been there and done all this all under the 'pretence' that I have no choice, as I need to be earning money so I can pay the bills, provide for my family, pay for the holiday etc.
But, let's think about what we are really doing – we are hiding. Hiding ourselves away, making ourselves unavailable, hiding under the 'busy' excuse, hiding away from LIFE instead of stepping up and making the choices that will change our lives.
You see it's all about allowing (and yes, that's because it is a choice) ourselves to become overwhelmed, stressed and burnt out – who does that help? Does it make you a happier person? Does it make your loved ones happier? Does it make you better at what you do? Nope – but so many of us do it!
Awareness is great – being aware that we are doing this is, of course, the first step to making changes, but Accountability is the big one! If we are aware, but choose the same path, we will end up in the same place, but if you start to become accountable for your choices you can start to make changes.
The power is in your hands, each and every one of us has a choice and if you choose to pick up your smart phone and check your emails or scroll through Facebook when your partner or your children should be having your attention, then think about the message you are sending them and the message you are wiring into your brain.
If you are hiding from life right now because you are too 'busy', take a step back and think is that really what you want to be doing, is that really making you happy, helping you to live the life you want? If not, then it's time for you to be accountable; after all, exactly what you have created so far in your life is exactly because of the choices you have made – if that's not quite what you want it to be, choose to make different choices – don't hide 🙂