What is your relationship with ‘busy?’.

When did being busy become a badge of honour?

How many times when somebody asks, “how are you?”, do you respond with “busy”. Life is so busy, don’t ask, or I am surviving.  Or it may not be what you say, but just the way that you respond that gives the impression you are busy.

This is hardly surprising given we have been bought up in a society that values delivery and productivity. Our school system, our family systems, the capitalist economy. Being busy – and being seen to be busy - is a sign we are successful, that what we do is important, and is often conflated with being productive.

On the other end of the spectrum, laziness often creates feelings of guilt. Guilt when considering doing less, taking time to rest or not completing the task. We are afraid of being labelled as lazy.

Being busy is not necessary a bad thing and, as women, we are always busy. With demands of family, work, and your communities.  However when it is born out of a belief that busyness has some sort of moral value, it may be a ‘life rule’ that no longer serves you.

Often an important realisation for many of my clients is that being busy is not how they want to be perceived, nor a concept that they want to use to define their success. They want to be calmer, more centred, more grounded when they show up for others.

Additionally, self-care is not laziness. Slowing down, resting, creating space for your needs, stopping, allows you to have a deeper quality of thinking and presence that created real connections with those around you.

So, how often do you use the word busy?

What if you chose a different badge of honour. More in line with the perception and presence you would like to have in the world – calm, thoughtful, kind, genuine.

I help women to change their relationship with being busy. To reframe what success means for them and to feel less guilt about prioritising their needs.