A new year is a great time full of hope and renewed enthusiasm for the coming 12 months. This is what makes it such a great time to set new goals, challenges and routines to support a ‘new you’.
You may decide to do a 5km fun run, take up some study, or commit to making your lunches during the week to save money and unwanted calories.
This year I’ve decided to choose my words wisely. I’m a firm believer that surrounding yourself with positive things nourishes your soul. That’s why I often advise my clients who are stuck in a rut at work to avoid gossip and negative talk. The saying that you reap what you sow is true, so if you use negative language, sure as eggs you’ll start feeling lousy and be drawn to people who are negative. No wonder some workplaces turn toxic!
Much in the same way, I’m going to avoid the word ‘busy’ for 2023. Why? Late last year I read an inspiring book called Rushing Women’s Syndrome by Dr Libby Weaver. Dr Libby gives an insightful account of modern society and how it’s impacting on women’s health. We are so caught up in having to do everything NOW, that we are sacrificing our happiness and wellbeing. This is such a good book – I seriously recommend you read it. It will make you really question why you do the things you do at such a frenetic pace.
So anyway, back to the word ‘busy’. When you bump into someone on the street that you haven’t seen for a while, and you ask “how are you?”, what do you expect to hear? “I’m good … busy”? And how would you usually respond to that question yourself? I know I’d probably say I was good and follow up that things were busy! We’re all so busy being busy! Well that’s all changing because I now know that by saying I’m busy all the time, I’m feeding my subconscious and then without knowing it I speed up trying to do everything at a crazy pace. Over time this leads to feelings of anxiety and being overwhelmed and it’s just not good for us to be busy all the time. Humans were not designed to be in a constant state of stress – read Dr Libby’s book to find out more about ‘fight or flight’ and how you can feed your subconscious (in a good way).
So, I challenge you – like me – to drop this overused word that is not serving us at all. Let’s stop all the rushing and start living in the moment. I figure I can still be a employee, mother, friend and partner without all the angst.
Click here to find out more about Rushing Women’s Syndrome by Dr Libby Weaver.
