Busyness is an interesting topic and one I’ve specialised in over the last decade, both in my lived experience and the expertise I went on to teach as a result! When we talk about burnout it’s not always the quantity of what we’re doing that contributes. Sometimes it can be the quality of what we’re doing that can contribute to burnout. Things like not being aligned to our values, having no autonomy, not being recognised or appreciated and a lack of community or loneliness can also be massive contributors where burnout is concerned.
That brings me to our thought for today. Are you too busy or may it be that we’re busy doing the wrong things and that’s why it feels so hard? We’ve all had times in our life when we’ve been busy doing something we enjoy, it doesn’t feel like such a drag, time goes quicker and it energises us rather than taking away from our energy reserves. We often call this flow, it’s a pleasurable state to be in that aids our wellbeing and often energises us meaning we can do it for longer because it’s enjoyable.
Switch that out for the daily grind and the stress and overwhelm of doing work we don’t enjoy or can’t see the meaning in this is much harder, not surprisingly.
For me, it’s the difference between living a full life where we’re busy but have no time to do the things that really matter, versus a life that’s fulfilled. A fulfilled life can still be busy but it doesn’t feel stressful or overwhelming because we’re focused on the right things and we’re busy doing the things that matter to us in a way that works for us.
That’s what I’ve been exploring in my new book, Calmony, and has been the focus of my journey as I’ve created a life I love over the last decade.