It's hard for us to rein in our constant busyness

Are you one of those very busy people? You know, the ones whose agenda is always full of things to do and who don't even have time to scratch their heads? It would not be an exaggeration to say that one of the common characteristics of us 21st century people is that we are all very busy. Yes, we are all too busy to have time for ourselves, for our spiritual self-care, for activities that renew our energy. Our days are spent running around like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland.

I know we have bills to pay, business meetings to attend. But this constant busyness of ours goes far beyond the actions we need to take to earn a living. It is as if we are all in a fierce competition with each other to be the busiest. Busyness is one of the status symbols for us in the modern world. We are surrounded by people showing off their busyness to each other. Let's admit it, most of us are addicted to being busy.

So why are we addicted to being busy?

Most of us associate being busy with being valuable. The busier we are, the more valuable we think we are. So it's hard for us to rein in our constant busyness.

By being busy, we may be protecting ourselves from the problems we want to face.

Again, by being busy all the time, we may be trying to distract ourselves from the existential emptiness we feel inside.

Being too busy to take time for yourself can negatively affect both our physical and mental health. He notes that across America, increased levels of work have led to an increase in depression, chronic undiagnosed pain and anxiety disorders.

The addiction to busyness is something that has been imported from America, the home of many trends, to other countries. Countries like France are trying to counter this constant busyness, constant thinking about work, which originated in America. Americans choose to be busy with work, the French choose to be busy with life.

As in every aspect of life, the key word here is balance. Neither being so busy that we lose ourselves is good for us, nor spending time aimlessly without any plan or program...

I think the most logical solution is to be busy with our work and with activities that enhance our lives and nourish our souls. To do this, let's make time for quality time with ourselves and our loved ones as often as we make time for our work. Let's make the deep rest I mentioned in one of my previous articles one of our weekly self-care routines. Let's not neglect to include our spiritual care during the day.

If we don't want to get burnout syndrome, another reality of our age, let's take care of our spiritual, physical and mental health. I wish you days of balanced occupations...