I know that I've shared before about being busy vs. productive so you shouldn't be surprised that I'm still harping on it because it's so natural to hear someone say to you "I know you how busy you are," which is what someone said to me the other day. I said I wasn't. I told her that if I was, I would be making a mistake. A "too-busy" person is a lazy disorganized person. When I'm too busy I want to realize that I'm just a gal who can't say no.
Busy
My friend Tina was confused. Wasn't the object in life to be busy? Busy with work, busy with the family, busy being busy? Tina was even trying to associate being busy with success.
People bow down to "busy." They say, "Wow, I heard about that new account you guys got, so I know you must be VERY busy, so I'll keep it brief." Or they say, "I heard you got married! So you must be too busy to see me like the old days, so maybe we can talk on the phone." "Busy" is just assumed to be good. But it is not. It isn't the good life. When I'm "busy" (as I sometimes am... by mistakes I make) it means I have been afraid to say "no." I've been trying to please everybody. I am making myself a doormat to people out of fear of not being liked. From that busy-ness I can't truly serve. I can't serve God within or even ordinary people from there.
Courage
Courage is the life of force. A natural but thought-obscured state. When it is not obscured, it pushes the flow up through the concrete. The flower was made--just like we were made--to flourish. The courage to push up and break through is always already resting there. Including the courage to say NO to someone who is about to complicate my life.
When I wrote my book, I talked about jumping out of my comfort zone which didn't mean I didn't have fear, it just meant I moved past it to ignite my life which was about a newfound courage for my life. It wasn't about "building up" my courage. We were all born with all the courage we'll ever need. The trick is to allow a shift in the mind that just drops those fears we've added on top of the original courage.
It might have started with worries (they're not full blown fears yet, but they're getting there). First you notice you can drop the worries. Now there's no place for these ridiculous fears to start from.
Maybe you were scared when you watched everyone riding that tall rollercoaster, but soon you realized that it must not be that bad if so many others are riding it so you decide to try it because deep down in your natural courage you now allow yourself to know that.
Recognize when you are being busy and muster up the courage to say NO to honor your life by making it less complicated. I would like you to practice by catching yourself when you think or say out loud "I'm too busy" and then shift your thinking and commit with courage to make a change for the better for your life in that moment/for your future despite your fears.
"Fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward." - Amelia Earhart
If anything I've shared resonated with you or you have blog topic recommendations, I welcome you to leave a comment below.
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