Too busy?

“How are you?”  she asked.

“Good” he replied, “busy, but good.”

How many times a day does this exchange occur?  How often do each of us utter such phrases, qualifying our mood, our day, by bemoaning the busyness of our own lives?  Of course, almost simultaneously, we look to take on more projects, make more commitments, say yes to doing more.

Allow me to suggest something radical here: you are only as busy as you choose to be, and you are NEVER too busy.  Each of us has 24 hours each day to eat, sleep, travel, work, plan, laugh and love.

We can choose to spend those 24 hours however we want.  Yes, there are basic requirements – at some point you may fall over if you don’t sleep for a few hours – but for the most part, you control your own time.

When we use busy this way, it too often equals stress, tired, not real busy.  Perhaps, this kind of busy means that you are choosing priorities – you are not too busy to do something, you are choosing not to make it a priority.  That’s not something to apologize for, as priorities are important – but admitting that it’s just not a priority can bring great clarity of thinking.

In my own life, I’ve discovered that “busy” is relative – sure, I have a full schedule, but who doesn't?  What's important is that I choose to allocate my day in areas of passion and love.

A challenge: spend as much of your 24 hours as you can in ways that you are passionate about.  See how busy you feel then.