Busy-ness as Status

As my winter break drew to an end this weekend, I found myself listening an episode of the Feel Better, Live More podcast with host Dr. Rangan Chatterjee. It was an episode with a common theme this time of year -- "How to Reinvent Your Life in 2025: 5 Powerful Habits that Really Work." Now, I can't say I'm interested in "reinventing" my life this year, but I do tend toward self-improvement literature and find the study of habits interesting, as many do (judging by the success of the "self-help" industry in America). 

Most of what Dr. Chatterjee had to share in this solo episode was in alignment with what I've heard from other habit-experts like James Clear, BJ Fogg, and Dan Harris. Even when Chatterjee moved into a discussion of our cultural obsession for "busy-ness," I found myself nodding along with what I've heard before. But then, he made an analogy I hadn't yet considered: our busy-ness, and the endless sharing/complaining/posting/perpetuating of our hectic lives reflects what we believe to be our status. 

I've really only looked at this through the lens of control; when we do all of the things, it means we are controlling all of the things as well. After all, no one else can possibly do all the things I'm doing (something I explored in a previous blog post on over-functioning). 

But, Chatterjee takes a different angle. When we do all of the things, we may be trying to prove to others that we are higher on the status ladder. Think about it -- busy people are important people, aren't they? He also goes on to say that busy-ness isn't a sign of superiority -- it's a sign of poor time management and poor priorities. 

Well, OK then! 

He's got a point, doesn't he? When we are rushing, rushing, rushing all the time, every day of the week, never taking a break, we are basically admitting that we aren't balancing our time well enough to slow down and take a rest. And if we don't want to take a rest, we might not be willing to take a look at what we are running from all the time. We might be afraid that we don't "deserve" to rest; we might be avoiding what rises up for us in the silence. We might be scared that if we slow down, someone else may slide into our position at work or in our relationships. 

It's worth considering, as we start our work week (for many educators like me, it's bound to be a hectic return to work). What role is busy-ness playing in your life? Is that role still serving you and your goals? If not, what can you lay down? What can you say no to? What can you cut in order to make room for the things that matter most to you? 

I leave you with the advice of one of my favorite poets, Yung Pueblo:


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