Busy Vs. Active

I am so busy.

We have all said this multiple times this month if not this week. “I am so busy,” a statement that falls off the tongue as if we don’t even have to think before saying it. And yes, we are busy. The word “busy” as defined by the Oxford Dictionary reads “having a great deal to do.” So sure, we are always busy then, right? There are always things we have to do. We have to get up in the morning, get ready, eat, go to school, practice for competitions, go to any other commitments we may have, go home, eat again, do homework, get ready for bed, go to sleep and then do it all over again the next day. That sounds extremely busy! And all of those items don’t even include any arrangements we’ve made to hang out with friends or attend extra items outside of school, those are just some of the basic things that add to us “having a great deal to do.”

And, I don’t know about you, but when I tell someone or myself that I am busy, a lot of stress comes over me. The word “busy” has become a bad thing. When someone says “I’m too busy, I can’t do that” or “this week is going to be so busy!” it usually has a fairly negative connotation to it. While busy may be defined as having a lot to do, it is known in a lot of people’s minds to mean “I have so many things I HAVE to do that I don’t have any time for things I want/ get to do” when really, this isn’t the case. We may be “busy” on a weekend with lots of activities on our agenda, but some of those are things we enjoy like hanging out with friends, or going to the movies, so does that change the word we should use to describe our time?

When we involve ourselves in lots of activities or organizations, it is usually because we have a desire to be there and enjoy having them on our calendar. Instead of saying we’re “busy,” what if we said we are “active?” Active is defined as “engaged in action” and wouldn’t we describe our activities as engaging rather than just something we have to do?

I am not busy with FFA, I am active in an organization that I love. I am not busy with school, I am active in my education. And I am not busy with my friends and family, I am active in my social life and relationships.

Language is everything when describing our endeavors.

Choose an active life over a busy life,

Elizabeth