In the last 5 years, I have moved back and forth from my
hometown for work. I am finally back. Why am I saying is because with my coming
back, my relatives far and wide, while not sure if they are happy to have me
back or no, they definitely want to meet me. And I don’t want to. So what do I
say – I say I am very busy. So much so that I really have no time to pick up
the phone to make a call. I am so busy that I live between office and home.
I have kept up with this excuse for a long time now. I have
canceled meeting friends, family and even going out because I am too busy. But
am I too busy? No. Yes, I do have a huge, never-ending list of things to do,
but I put them on a backburner because I like to think I am too busy. In short,
the idea of being ‘too busy’ is a farce. It is an excuse we use in abundance.
Constantly telling ourselves that we are busy is in a way
training our mind and body to believe it. It causes us to overthink, leaving little
or no space for thinking about ourselves.
How many times have you shouted out aloud – I AM BUSY. Yes,
you are and so is everyone.
I am sure each one of has a huge to-do list which has an
invisible extension charm as it is ever growing. The point is, everyone is busy
but if we have time to be busy, we have time for everything else.
Most of my conversations with (almost anyone) these days
start and end as:
X: Hey! How are you?
Me: Hey…hi! I am well. How are you?
X: I am good. Been so long, na?
Me: Yeah…
X: Let’s meet up! Saturday free? Sunday bhi chalega!
Me: No… I am busy. End of the month. Blah. Blah. Blah.
There… I gave out the excuse without even thinking.
Constantly thinking we are busy actually makes us procrastinators. We tell
ourselves that we are busy is in a way training our mind and body to believe
it. It causes us to overthink, leaving little or no space for thinking about
ourselves. With so much going on in our head, at work, on the personal front
and with us being ‘busy’ we actually don’t end up doing anything. No wonder,
the to-do never ends! There is no sense of accomplishment but only that of
fatigue – mental, physical.
We cannot blame ourselves entirely. In our day and age
‘busy’ is often equated with hard working and efficient. Busy means putting
more than 8 hours at work, browsing and answering emails at night and on
holidays. In short, busy means we have no life. We make these sacrifices for
our career or so we tell ourselves. Even children today are busy – they juggle
school, extracurricular classes, dance, hobby, and God knows what! But at the
end of this ‘busy’ tunnel, lies exhaustion.
Often times, we bite into more than we can chew! If one
happens to be at work on time and leave at 6 PM, that person doesn’t care about
work ethics, they are lazy and unmotivated. But have we really cared to check?
What if that one person is the real efficient one?
Sadly, we have been equating success on all levels with
being busy. We seek validation for this too and get it. However, this is
nothing to be proud of. In our struggle to maintain our busy-ness, we may have
overlooked many important details, moments of fun, even sleeping. Busy is not
adding anything to our lives.
Try to do this – if an odd cousin calls you out of the blue
or if a nagging friend wants to meet up, simply say no if you don’t want to but
don’t lie to yourself that you are busy. Busy is boring, it is unreal. Be real.
Don’t give into peer pressure or other people’s expectations. Don’t be busy. Do
things at your own pace.
Be you. Live more. Do you agree with you?
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GO ahead, say it out loud!