The Busyness and Hurriedness of Life Is Overwhelming

Do you often feel overwhelmed and stressed out?  The pace of life for many Americans is crazy.  We run ourselves ragged working non-stop, taking the kids to countless activities, and spending more money than we earn.  Ask somebody today, “How’s life treatin’ ya?”  You will invariably get a response similar to this.  They will momentarily drop their chin, shake their head from side-to-side, look up, and then say, “Busy”.  We are usually too burnt out to enjoy our lives, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

The symptoms of an overwhelming life.

Some of us don’t even realize we are living life in the fast lane.  We don’t even slow down long enough to recognize how tired and overwhelmed we are.  Here are some signs that you are doing too much:

• You feel antsy if you are sitting doing nothing.
• You can’t remember the last time you took a day off from your normal routine.
• Your calendar is so full that if you have one unexpected delay your whole day is blown.
• You fight with your spouse about spending too much time at work.
• You haven’t seen your kids in more than a week.  (hopefully exaggerated!)
• Your spiritual life is null and void.
• You are burned out and often daydream about running away.
• You feel physically run down and worn out everyday.

Are you in denial about the pace of your life?

We often think it is only the workaholics of the world that have a problem with balance in their lives, but that is not true.  Everyone is susceptible to this problem.  Stay-at-home moms often get caught in this trap by trying to be super-moms.  They are constantly running their kids from one activity to the next.  They believe this is doing what’s best for their children, but in reality they are just passing on the disease.

Living at break-neck speed is not living life to the fullest.

We all need time to rest and recuperate.  We rush through life at such a pace that we seldom slow down long enough to enjoy what we have.  Why pass this bad habit along to your children?  Isn’t it better to teach them to fully engage in life?  Don’t we want them to stop and smell the roses?  If you think about the best moments of your life, they didn’t occur when you were rushing from one thing to the next.  No, they most likely were the times when you got away from it all and took the time to rest, reflect, and attend to the really important matters of your life.

How to overcome the addiction of busyness.

It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: what are we busy about?
~Henry David Thoreau

Busyness and hurriedness is an epidemic in our society.  It is stealing our joy and causing us to lose out on some of the best times that life has to offer.  One day we are going to wake up and our kids will be grown, our health will be failing, and we will realize we rushed by everything that was truly important.  How do we stop this madness?

1.  STOP!

The first thing to do is take a time-out.  We need to force ourselves to take a break.  One way that my wife and I do this is by going camping.  We get out of our normal environment, away from the regular hustle and bustle.  It is only then that we realize how tired we really are.  Once we are away, we don’t feel compelled to do things.  In just a few hours, we relax. 

I highly encourage you to get away.  So often, even our vacations are a rush from one activity to the next.  Plan some time where you don’t have anything to do.  This will help you gain perspective and evaluate your life.  Spend some time in quiet contemplation.

2.  Evaluate your priorities.

Make a written list of what is really important to you.  Now be honest.  Are you doing the things that truly have value to you?  Do you have a meaningful relationship with your kids?  How’s your marriage?  Are the things you spend the majority of your time doing going to be important to you come the end of your life? 

Obviously, we all have certain aspects of our lives that we have to do even though they are less pleasant.  I’m not advocating being irresponsible.  We have to do the day-to-day things necessary to get by, but as Stephen Covey teaches, you have to put first things first.  Unless you define a set of priorities and then consciously choose to live according to those priorities, you are likely to be swept downstream by the priorities of others.

3.  Learn to say, “No!”

We need to eliminate the unimportant activities in our lives in order to slow down.  The only way to do this is to learn to say no.  There is often a lot of pressure to go, go, go.  As parents, we feel pressure from other parents, teachers, coaches, and even our children.  However, we are the adults and the only ones responsible for our lives.  We must draw the line and limit our commitments.

This may be tough because you may feel you are already committed.  Wean yourself off as many unimportant things as quickly as possible.  Yes, you will probably feel some resistance from others, but they’ll get over it and you’ll thank yourself for it.

4.  Delegate beyond your comfort zone.

Start delegating more responsibilities at work and at home.  We often hang onto too many things because we think we are the only ones that can do it right, but this is killing us.  We have to start letting others take on more tasks.  Teaching and coaching others to take care of themselves can be time-consuming, but once you have them trained, then you can step back. 

In order to get any real value from this, you have to take it one step further than what is comfortable for you.  When I do this, I usually find that others can do more than what I gave them credit for.  Even if there are some issues, it usually isn’t the end of the world.  I often blow things up in my mind which causes me to hold back from delegating as much as I should.

5.  Seek guidance to slow down.

In your quiet time, seek guidance for your life.  Pray, meditate, reflect, and read wisdom literature to find direction.  I highly suggest writing down the highlights of your thoughts during these periods so you can return to them often.  In order to break the habits of busyness and hurriedness, we have to continually remind ourselves of our true priorities and keep ourselves mindfully making the right choices.

Where does the guidance for your life come from?  Go back to that source of wisdom and tap into it again.  It will help you realign yourself with what is important.

Get control and you won’t feel so overwhelmed.

We have to break the cycle of rushing from one thing to the next so we can focus on our priorities.  This will help us to truly live life to the fullest.  Being busy and having a cram-packed schedule is NOT living the best life possible.  It is during the periods where we have things in order that we find inner joy and peace. 

What are you going to do to stop feeling so overwhelmed?

Photo by xxxtoff