Exhaustion: the action or state of using something up or of being used up completely.
Do you feel like that? Used up completely?
Why?
Lately I have been thinking a lot about what it means to live. Live life to the fullest. Live intentionally and authentically. Live your own life, not someone else's version of you.
Have any of you ever thought about that?
Many of my clients have several children and the one thing I hear the most is, "We are so busy." Busy with activities, busy with working, and busy with everything else.
People often ask me, "How is your business going?" Are you busy?
I appreciate the interest and kindness. I am thankful that there is a connection and people are truly wondering how I and my business are doing.
I usually answer, "I am doing well! And, my business is right where it needs to be."
I hear that word, "busy" so often. Why is there so much emphasis put on being busy? What is it associated with?
I believe it is associated with status and being important.
Do you ever feel like your life is one big blur?
I do sometimes. But to have this "feeling" of "life is a blur", " I need a vacation" or "I am so busy" is not all that it is cracked up to be. We associate being busy with being important, or being valued, like a status symbol.
At some point, when people were asked, "How are you?" the answer changed from "fine", or "good" to "busy!"
And, here are some statistics that tell us why.
You can find a study in the Journal of Consumer Research that analyzed tweets from celebrities and found that 12 percent of those tweets were about being busy, having no life, or needing a vacation.
A fictional facebook page was also created and volunteers looked at the many posts. What do you think they thought?
People thought the fictional facebook user had a higher status when they read posts about working nonstop. They did not think this when they read posts about fun activities, or personal things.
And, the crazy thing is, average work hours for the average American have decreased over the last seven decades.
For me, in the business world, I have found that being busy is associated with a higher status, or it appears to be a status symbol. It is like a badge of honor and shows our importance, value or self worth. And, when time is taken to rest or when we make an intentional effort to get off the "busy" wheel that seems to go nowhere, the culture views us differently.
There are times in our lives that we are very busy. Raising children, working, and all that goes with that requires our time and investment. We may have to work more during that season of our lives just to make ends meet. I did. At one point, I was working three part time jobs and home schooling my kids. It was tough and tiring. And, we were extremely busy. I was not thinking about "status" or being "important", though. I was thinking about what was best for my children and doing the best I could.
Most families are not in the position of being busy because it is a status symbol. They are working hard and trying to make the best life for their kids.
Eventually, though, we are going to be exhausted. We are going to be used up completely, and then we are no good for anyone.
I don't believe being busy should be the status symbol it is today. We need to find more balance and feel the freedom to rest and live our lives freely without feeling like we need to be busy in order to be important or valued.
Brene Brown said it best.
"It takes courage to say yes to rest and play in a culture where exhaustion is seen as a status symbol."
At Songs of Life Photography, we choose to live with intent. We choose to rest, play and work hard when we need to. Since we understand the busyness of your lives, we wish to make your experience with us fun, peaceful, and as stress free as possible. We want you to love more, laugh more, and just enjoy your time together with us.
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