WELLNESS--The busy badge is an award that I for one can do without. In today’s day and age people are seemingly in competition with each other as to who is busier. Ask anyone how he or she is doing and most surely you will hear “I’m so busy.” What people don’t realize is that being busy all the time may be doing more damage than good. Here’s why.
- When we are too busy we can’t be present to what we are doing. As we run from one task to another or one app to the next, it is challenging to focus our minds and attention on what it is that we are doing in the moment. Unfortunately, this busy mindset often carries over into our relationships and before we know it, we are either not making plans at all with our friends and family or we are spending short little snippets of time with them that hardly add up to meaningful relationships. Being present to what we are doing no matter what it is an important component to a healthy life.
- Being too busy often leads to multi-tasking which has been proven to be a futile and unsuccessful endeavor. Each time we get new information the brain is rewarded. At face value this seems like a good thing, but the problem begins when we switch from app to app or text to email too often. For example if one is checking their email and they hear a text alert and grab their phone to check. While our brains feel rewarded by new information, we can only process one thought at a time, and the constant switching of subjects eventually starts to train the brain to lose focus.
- When we are so busy running around accomplishing things we forget the most important subject of all which is ourselves! Getting caught up in facebook and instagram in addition to our texts and emails and then piling on work and errands makes it very easy to take our own self-care for granted. Studies show that people who spend more time on social media tend to be more depressed if looking at facebook brings up feelings of envy. Coupling those feelings of depression along with the time spent on social media leaves little time for-self care and self-love.
- Finally, being overly busy often causes a stress response in the body triggering a cascade of stress hormones and negative impacts on the body and mind. The heart, mind and body need rest, and without it, stress hormone levels stay elevated causing inflammation and over time possible heart problems and even cancer. Taking time each day to sit somewhere quiet and just breath is crucial to ones well being.
Lets all give up the busy badge. When I hear people complaining of being too busy I use that to remind myself to slow down and take some time to gather my thoughts and feelings so I can finish my day with greater awareness and focus. Instead of letting our brains run us all over the place, let’s take one step and one task at a time in order to bring the best to every situation and every person we come into contact with.
(Christian Cristiano is an acupuncturist in LA, TV host of Wellness for Realists and writes on wellness regularly for CityWatch. Christian can be reached at 310.909.6956 twitter: @CristianoWFR)
-cw
4 Quick Reasons Why ‘Too Busy’ is Not Healthy
