Is being busier better or worse for your health?
Be honest: do you love being busy? Do you thrive on telling people your to do list because secretly you are letting that person know that you somehow got more done than they did in 24 hours? Boom! Yup you’re the busiest person I know. But is being busy better for your health? (Try saying that 3x fast!)
On one hand being busy can be very good for your mental, emotional and physical health. The idea of juggling multiple things in a day and getting it all done can signify to some a certain level of achievement and therefore success. In fact, busy people seem to get off on, well…being busy! And it is true: ask a busier person to take on another task and they somehow always seem to get that job done too. Busy people revel in their busyness. Just the question alone “so what did you do today?” Allows the busy person the chance to “brag” about all the things they jammed into their chaotic day. Inclusive in this download are comments like: “ugh I had the craziest day. You would not believe what I did!“ The laundry list of accomplishments follows. Super hero status secured! So is there any downside to this busy behavior of being?
Many busy people sacrifice some amount of their own self care and health. Don’t get me wrong: the gym and hair coloring and manicures usually make the to-do list for the busy person. What gets missed however, is often mindfulness and awareness. Mindfulness and awareness are incredible tools that arguably are critical for good health and well being. Why? The body and mind need time to breathe! Yes yoga! Yes meditation! Yes just deep breathing! Busy people might see these things as dispensable items on the to-do list. But instead, these things should be at the very top! I’m not suggesting that everyone do yoga or meditation-although I think we would be living in a much calmer existence if we all did! Awareness and mindfulness give us the presence of mind to make good choices, to develop good behaviors and good habits. This in turn leads to better nutrition and self care.
Being consciously aware of what we are doing and having the mindfulness to truly experience the experience we are in, is a skill that takes time to master. People who meditate get what this is all about. We can all benefit from taking the time to hit the pause button. What does this really mean? For example, for a hair stylist it might mean booking clients with a 15 min flexibility window. Maybe this translates to a little less in the piggy, but maybe not. What it will do is allow for some stress to subside when clients aren’t booked back to back to back. Stress is cryptonite to super heroes like busy people! It wrecks with your gut health, weight, sleep and overall well being. It all factors in to the total equation of good health.
So busy people keep doing what you’re doing but take some time to smell the roses. Your health depends on it!