Anybody who has parented a young child knows this to be the case.īut in almost every case, when you get down to it, it is a decision that we made to put ourselves in that situation. Now, this reality that we always have a choice in life doesn’t mean that there aren’t some external demands that may be placed on our lives. You can only forget that you have the power to decide.”
Greg McKeown, in his book Essentialism, says it this way: “No one can take away your right to choose. Our hours and our schedules are determined by us. We are never forced into a lifestyle of busyness. One of the most life-changing discoveries you can make in the pursuit of an unbusy life is the reality that busyness is a decision we make. Unbusy people know they have choice in life. And learn to say no to all the countless opportunities that will distract you from it. Pursue those with your heart and your life. What is your purpose? What goals do you have for your life? On what mission do you desire to live? And what plan have you developed to help you get there? This becomes easier to do, the more resolved we become about our purpose in life. Staying on mission is about learning to say no to the urgent requests, the popular requests, and the countless opportunities in front of us each day-even good things that we could do. But the hardest work is done in the trenches.
Of course, sometimes the choices are obvious (I was never good at hockey, woodworking, or automobile mechanics, for example). Unbusy people are adamant about saying no to things that do not align with their mission. But more than that, we know what we should choose, because we are guided by our life’s greatest mission. The wisest of us recognize we have the power to choose (more on that in a moment).
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When we become resolved in the goals we pursue, we are less likely to allow distractions to remain in our life.Įvery day we are presented with countless choices of how to spend our time, our energy, our effort, and our money. These purposes may change or evolve over the course of one’s life, but they provide boundaries and a road map for the way they spend their days and time. Unbusy people have thought long and hard about the legacy they want to leave, the goals they choose to pursue, and the significance they wish to discover.
Here are some of the most significant differences I have noticed: There is a difference between busy and non-busy people. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot from watching others and embracing habits and practices in my own life. How do we unbusy our lives but continue to pursue a significant and productive life? Over the past fourteen years of minimizing my possessions and embracing greater intentionality in life, I’ve given lots of thought to this question: What do they understand about life that others do not? Learning from the Differences They appear calm, collected, and in control… but still productive. In other words, busyness is not inevitable. While busyness seems to be the prevailing condition of the human spirit these days, it is not true of everyone. Activity is good, but we can become too busy. About 33% of Americans are living with extreme stress daily, and nearly 50% of people say they regularly lie awake at night because of stress. Americans are having a hard time finding opportunity for vacations these days. A rising number of children are being placed in day cares and after-school activities. Statistics indicate that 75% of parents are too busy to read to their children at night. But is the state improving our lives? Certainly not. There are too many responsibilities and not enough time in the day nor energy in the body to accomplish everything they want to do.īusy has become the default state for many of us. But most of the time, the person legitimately means it. Sometimes, people say it just to sound important. Have you ever noticed how “busy” has become the new “fine”? As in, when you used to ask somebody how they were doing, they would answer, “Fine.” But nowadays, everybody answers, “Busy.”