There’s been a ton of virtual ink spilled in discussions over this article, The Busy Trap.  Essentially, it’s the phenomenon in America (and other parts of the world, but largely the US) where everyone is “too busy” to do anything, yet we aren’t really accomplishing that much more with our full schedules.

This is me more often than not. I’m running around like a crazy lady because I don’t know how to live any other way. I’ve got to keep 20 plates spinning in the air, otherwise, I’m a failure. This is stupid. Who really needs 20 plates spinning to be fulfilled? I’m started to feel overwhelmed by all the activities, dreams, and obligations I’ve packed into my life. You know it’s a bad sign when your husband tells you that you’re not mentally present and your mom tells you that she hopes you won’t continue at this pace for much longer.

I’ve taken their words to heart… sort of. This will inevitably be another failed challenge to myself: to slow down a bit. I just don’t know any other speed besides “fast”. It’s interesting, because I look at the Olympians and think that I’ve failed because I didn’t win medals at 16, or look at the latest pop stars and think I’m a failure because I didn’t top the charts at 20, or look at the tech billionaires and think I’m a failure because I didn’t found Google before 25. The thing is, all of those people have on singular pursuit that consumes them. Yes, they stay busy, and yes, they have a ton of activities filling up their days. But mentally, they’re running toward a singular goal, and the busyness is just a set of tactics to reach the goal. Technically, there’s an end in sight!

I’m going to do my best to relax and re-charge during my 2-week summer break, but I’ll probably be so busy trying to relax that I’ll fail completely. Anyone else fall into the “busy trap”?