This strikes a chord with me... I've always loved being busy.
Somehow I got it in my head that being busy = being productive. The more you do, the more you achieve, right?
Plus, I'm good at it. Or I thought I was. The thing about being busy is that it makes you feel important, and feeling important can make even the self-conscious person feel awesome.
I had a pretty good cycle in place; I'd fill up my schedule with work, personal obligations, school, work, family functions, work, my hobbies and interests, and - can you guess it?
More work.
When my schedule became so full that I could take nothing more on I felt content that I was being as productive as I could be and that I was making great achievements. I was high-strung, easy irritated, and brash. I thought I was earning my paycheck.
Yet for all my imagined success, I would begin to feel empty. Eventually I would resent my busy schedule as plans fell through or I started missing appointments. My mind was slipping, which made me feel worse. And I would find myself sitting on the couch on a Friday or Saturday evening, indulging on ice cream while I watched TV, having convinced myself that I deserved a break. But then the weekend turned into the week; days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, before I realized I was in a slump and that I needed to pull myself out.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in America, affecting over 40 million adults and costing the U.S. over $42 billion a year. Why are we so anxious? I can say that I now know why I was so stressed out. I was addicted to busy.
Being busy gave my life meaning. A purpose to the plan, a goal to reach, a finish line to cross. Being busy kept my mind from reaching the inevitable conclusion; to question who I was, what I was doing, and why I was doing it. It was much easy just to fill my schedule.
Once I finally realized what I was doing to myself I decided I was going to have to force myself to change and choose to make my life better. I fired my job and went to work for myself.
Little by little I began to care for myself, in ways that I never imagined I had to, and slowly, my quick thinking became slow, but clear, my previous anxiousness came in manageable bouts, as I started to feed myself what mattered.
It has taken effort, but I see a light at the end of the tunnel. I've been clean from my busy addiction for four weeks now.
What about you? If you are serious about stopping the busy addiction then do something NOW.
Somehow I got it in my head that being busy = being productive. The more you do, the more you achieve, right?
Plus, I'm good at it. Or I thought I was. The thing about being busy is that it makes you feel important, and feeling important can make even the self-conscious person feel awesome.
I had a pretty good cycle in place; I'd fill up my schedule with work, personal obligations, school, work, family functions, work, my hobbies and interests, and - can you guess it?
More work.
When my schedule became so full that I could take nothing more on I felt content that I was being as productive as I could be and that I was making great achievements. I was high-strung, easy irritated, and brash. I thought I was earning my paycheck.
Yet for all my imagined success, I would begin to feel empty. Eventually I would resent my busy schedule as plans fell through or I started missing appointments. My mind was slipping, which made me feel worse. And I would find myself sitting on the couch on a Friday or Saturday evening, indulging on ice cream while I watched TV, having convinced myself that I deserved a break. But then the weekend turned into the week; days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, before I realized I was in a slump and that I needed to pull myself out.
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in America, affecting over 40 million adults and costing the U.S. over $42 billion a year. Why are we so anxious? I can say that I now know why I was so stressed out. I was addicted to busy.
Being busy gave my life meaning. A purpose to the plan, a goal to reach, a finish line to cross. Being busy kept my mind from reaching the inevitable conclusion; to question who I was, what I was doing, and why I was doing it. It was much easy just to fill my schedule.
Once I finally realized what I was doing to myself I decided I was going to have to force myself to change and choose to make my life better. I fired my job and went to work for myself.
Little by little I began to care for myself, in ways that I never imagined I had to, and slowly, my quick thinking became slow, but clear, my previous anxiousness came in manageable bouts, as I started to feed myself what mattered.
It has taken effort, but I see a light at the end of the tunnel. I've been clean from my busy addiction for four weeks now.
What about you? If you are serious about stopping the busy addiction then do something NOW.