Recently I got a question about busy-ness. Is it a badge of honor or is it holding us back? I will share the answers over the next few days. Love to hear you weigh in– would you like to ban busy?
Hi. My question has to do with being busy. I feel like I am constantly trying to prove myself and need to be doing so many things to get ahead or just keep up with all the people that seem to be achieving so many things around me. Did you ever feel this way? Did it go away? How do you manage trying to keep moving vs. just treading water by doing too much?
I totally empathize. In my experience busy-ness / quantity of stuff will neither get you ahead nor make you happy. Sometimes I find myself doing tons of things because I’m almost afraid of what will happen if I just slow down. Other times it’s a feeling of needing to keep up – and this you will never win because someone will always do more. What I wish someone had told me earlier in my career was:
1. Get into some sort of mediation practice where you learn to quiet your mind.
2. Do not multi task – be present in what you do, give it your full attention, then go on to the next thing.
3. When you decide to take on a project or go to an event or fill your schedule, think before you say yes. Why are you doing this? There could be very good reasons — to try something new, meet new people, stretch your thinking. But the reason should be because you think you’ll somehow enjoy it – not because you feel pressured to keep up. Good luck!
– CEO, Non-Profit