Are You Too Busy?

“No matter how busy a man is, he is never too busy to stop and talk about how busy he is.”

                                                                                         - SearchQuotes.com

Busy-ness. 

When you think about it, it has really become an obsession for us in our culture - a badge of honor, so to speak. 

The next time you are in a conversation with a friend or business associate, be aware of how many times the conversation begins or includes your expression of how busy you are.  

Busy-ness can become a driving force in our lives, particularly when we identify with it strongly or allow it to dictate how we show up in our professional and personal relationships.

Interestingly enough, super-coach, Steve Chandler often quips,

"Busy-ness is the surest sign of laziness."

He explains this by saying that most people focus on the mundane, unproductive tasks of their lives to appear being busy so they can avoid taking on the projects or tasks that can really make profound impacts in their lives.

Several years ago, I made the commitment to strike the word "busy" from my vocabulary.  

My amazing mom lives in Milwaukee, while I reside in Denver.  Each week we talk on the phone.  Sundays are my preferred day to check in as I have allowed the latest week to come close and I am more settled and available for connected conversation. 

One week, my mom called me on a Wednesday and began the conversation like this, 

"I am sorry to call you now, I know how busy you are, but it will only take a second..........................." 

I told her she was not interrupting me and that I would love to talk to her.  However, when I hung up the phone, I wondered to myself, 

What energy had I been projecting that made my own mother feel I was too busy to have time to talk with her?

Her words really gave me reason to pause. 

When I slowed down and got honest with myself, I realized that I had most likely been sending my message of being too busy to connect with her for years, and it didn’t stop there. 

I had most likely also been communicated this message to people throughout my life, like my sons, my friends, business associates and clients. 

Importantly, I had also been communicating this disempowering message to myself.  As a result, I had become distracted, agitated and felt out of control in my own life, as I had come to believe that I was always behind, convincing myself there was always so much more to do. 

What I came realize was this.  While I may not have been able to immediately impact the number of projects on my list, what I could do was change my perspective of how I looked at them, and importantly, how I spoke about them.

That was the moment I decided to omit the word “busy” from my vocabulary.

I began using words like “robust”, “expansive,” or as is said in the military, “high tempo” to describe my schedule.  This may seem like cheesy semantics to some, but for me, it was life-changing and transformed the way I look at things.  Rather than feeling exasperated by my life's pace, I began to feel energized, excited and blessed by my level of activity. 

Admittedly, I am not by any means perfect in this regard.  The "B-word" does occasionally slip out from time to time.  But I am now much more conscious when it does and am able to recalibrate my thoughts so as not to be held captive by the “busy-ness” trap.

So, what about you?  Are you willing to take the "B-word" out of your vocabulary?

Or are you just too busy?

Chris Natzke

Black Belt Leadership Speaking & Coaching

PS:  If you are looking to use speaking to uplevel your business, go to www.ChrisNatzke.com and check out the Champion Speakers Academy.