The illusion of busyness

Recently I had to say goodbye to a family member.

Relatively sudden. 

I won’t write about the circumstances, no worries. I’ll just write about a sudden shift in priorities when something like this happens to you.

From one moment to the other, things change dramatically. What mattered yesterday is suddenly not that important anymore. 

And nobody questions even for one second that you suddenly change direction.

So here’s the million-dollar question!

Why do we keep postponing the choices we know we have to make?

You know you can shift priorities when you have to.

What do you know today that you will decide one year from now?

Read that question one more time.

What do you know today that you will decide one year from now?

What stops you from making that choice today?

Some may answer this question that they’re too busy. Many don’t even have the awareness to ponder questions like these.

They’re faced with a continuous rat race in their head. Or a hamster wheel with a cute little hamster running like crazy to keep the wheel going in circles without going anywhere.

I don’t count you in this category.

You make the time every week to read my stories, so you probably have the time to think through questions like these.

Be happy; you belong to the considerate few who find it important to pause, stop, and reflect.

The busyness has to stop. Or better stated, the illusion of busyness needs to stop.

Because that’s what it is.

One big illusion.

You achieve 80% of your results, success, whatever, in 20% of your time. Just check it for yourself.

80% of your impact is generated by just 20% of the time you invest. That means that the other 80% of your time results in just 20% of impact.

In other words, you’re wasting a big part of your time.

If you trust me, you also have time to invest in the bigger picture; the more significant priorities, the bigger choices.

You can alternate the pace when you want. Because, of course, you have busy moments. We all have them. 

The constant stress of thinking you’re busy or others expecting you to be busy makes us irritable to our environment, burn out, or even worse.

You owe you!

Nobody else owes you. You make the decisions. You set your own pace. You decide when to permit yourself to rest.

You. You. You.

Nobody else.

You decide what your definition of success is.

You control your own destiny.

And believe me, success and destiny are not another house, car, or more clothes to show off your preciously built-up image.

You find that out when something sudden happens in your environment, and your priorities shift.

At that moment, nothing else matters.

So the best thing to do is to make your own choices when you can. Know what you want and, perhaps more importantly, what you don’t want.

Life is often not just deciding what you will do but, more importantly, deciding what not to do.

And if you don’t feel like being busy anymore, don’t.

It’s your choice.

Your turn: Who decides?

Do more of what makes you happy!

Erikjan

Schedule your free 30′ growth conversation here.