Stop telling me how busy you are! I don't care and it sounds pathetic.
When someone makes a request of your time, do you catch yourself saying, "Sorry, I'm just too busy"?
Now it's bad enough if we stop there, but for most of us, we continue on with some kind of story like, "I'm working 80 hours a week, and I'm on this very special project, and I'm also working in this organization, and I'm volunteering on the weekends, and I'm helping my neighbor with project X, Y, and Z, and my kids are involved in this, that, and the other thing so that pretty much books up my Tuesdays through 2027."
Now at first glance, it may sound like we're complaining about how busy our schedule is. But I think often we find ourselves boasting about our schedule in an attempt to try and out-busy someone else. I think we do this because unfortunately, we correlate busyness with importance and that's simply not true.
When we say, "I'm too busy," it sounds like we have no control over our schedules. When I hear someone go on and on about how busy they are, I don't think, "Wow, they sure must be important"! No, if anything, I feel sorry for them because it sounds like they have no control over their schedule.
The other problem with saying, "I'm too busy," is that it's usually a lie. If we really wanted to do the request or the activity that was being asked of us, we would make time for it. But the easy excuse is to say, "I'm too busy" or "I don't have time."
So let's stop saying, "I'm too busy." Instead, we can tell the truth by saying, "That's not a priority for me right now."
Changing the words that we use can remind us that time is always a choice. And if we don't like the way that we're spending our days, well then, let's change our priorities.
It's not that difficult, in fact, it's very simple.
