How I Stopped Glorifying Busyness

Being busy used to be something I glorified. In high school, I was working to have the perfect college application. I…

• Had a 4.0 GPA
• Was a part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program
• Was on student council
• Was a part of the Technology Student Association (TSA)
• Had multiple leadership positions at my church

and that’s not even everything.

Those things kept me so busy. But I loved how people were impressed by it! I seemed important when I had to run off to the next thing, and I loved telling people all the things I did to keep myself occupied. But I still didn’t feel like I was enough. The busyness wasn’t getting me anywhere and I didn’t even like half of the things that I was doing. By the time I was in college at Furman University, I was extremely burnt out.

Everyone at Furman seemed to keep busy, too. I thought I had escaped the competitive atmosphere from high school by attending one of my safety schools, but I was very wrong. Everyone at Furman was just like me—busy, made straight As, were a part of like 10 billion clubs, wanted to seem impressive and wanted to be the perfect graduate school/job applicant. Everyone was just like me and I hated it. I was tired of being busy just to be busy, tired of trying to be a part of as many things as possible when I didn’t even like them all, and tired of trying to impress people. And overall, I was TIRED. So, I set out to do something about it.

Two of my favorite books on the culture of busyness are To Hell With the Hustle by Jefferson Bethke and The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. In addition, these authors did a podcast together that I really love called Fight Hustle, End Hurry! Reading these books and listening to that podcast changed my perspective on my busy life.

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After I got to college, I realized that being busy isn’t everything, and having the best resume isn’t everything, and having a 4.0 GPA isn’t everything. What matters to me way more is being a part of things I love with people I love. Slowing down is now a part of my daily, weekly, and yearly routines. I make a conscious effort to not fill up every part of my days and weeks—not because I’m lazy, or because I don’t have plans, but because I now know that I need rest.

We all deserve rest, including you! The best days of my life are not the ones where I am overwhelmed with busyness, but the ones where I have the time to slowdown and enjoy the beauty of it all. I encourage you to slow, get the rest you need to, and take note of all the beauty that you see.

To see how my dad slows down in his life, click here!