Mindful Matters
The world is a very busy place indeed, you could call it a matter of “busyness”. In the 19th century, life of the well-off was measured by how much leisure time people had. Now, it’s the exact opposite! American “worth”, status or symbolism is measured by our busyness. Fearing idleness and desiring busyness in search for meaning and motivation in our lives is where we’re at.
Harvard, Johns Hopkins and Nobel Prize Winners agree that Americans want to be sought after. In addition, being overworked and constantly engaged is definitely part of our digital age. But, when we feel pressures of producing more in our jobs, the fear of missing out (FOMO), or the American Dream, we get extremely caught up. We lose sight of our life’s purpose and what truly is happening inside each and every one of us.
Speed can become a form of denial, a rejection of pain and problems, but within the denial there is certainly a price to pay. The biggest price may be our well-being. I can admit that over the past 2 years, I have been caught up in this lifestyle. As I set out to run my own business, busyness seems to be the only solution. In addition, the regular duties of motherhood, partnerships and managing the home has felt like madness. I thank God my profession is “health” because without it, I truly am not sure how I could operate some days. The. Struggle. Is. Real.
As I think hard about my future and how my mental, physical and emotional health is going to play out, I certainly feel that busyness is going to have to take a back seat. I know that even if I eat like a rabbit and exercise like Arnold, if I’m not careful, my mental health and the stressors of life will do me in…Wow, that doesn’t sound like the way to “do” life. So, in contemplating my health habits and knowing I could use some help “here and there”, the thought of slowing down a little bit sounds like a good plan. A jam-packed and rushed life is not sustainable. The health impacts are starting to catch up with us all:
“It is interesting that people find the busy lifestyle so aspirational and associate it with status given that the downsides of this lifestyle are often acknowledged and discussed (e.g., the negative impact on happiness, wellbeing, and health).” — Semantic Scholar
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/454d/041ddb0eacd1e8fa94460c11d8311154f17d.pdf
“When everything feels urgent and important, everything seems equal. We become active and busy, but this doesn’t actually move us any closer to success. Activity is often unrelated to productivity, and busyness rarely takes care of business.” — Gary Keller
The abundance of busyness will hopefully come to an end when people get “sick and tired of being sick and tired”.
Consider how possible it is to live a lighter, more sustainable life;
· Awareness~ the greatest agent for your change
· Mini Breaks ~ what gets scheduled gets done
· Mindfulness ~ give yourself the present
· Control ~ take the wheel and drive
· Nutrition ~ break, relax and enjoy good choices
· Physical ~ walk outside, mindless movement, dig the earth
· Sleep ~ nap, rest, expand your capacity to learn
· Emotional ~ calm, cool and collected
“Just because you’re doing a lot more doesn’t mean you’re getting a lot more done. Don’t confuse movement with progress.” — Denzel Washington
