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| Pinks Stay Strong - Week Fourteen |
Mindful vs Busy
By Coach Anita
I have been reading Oprah’s The Wisdom of Sundays, which she created from her interview series Super Soul Sundays. Oprah took her interviews with spiritual leaders, social psychologists, authors, sports stars, and world leaders and created chapters with their thoughts on topics like Awakening and Intention. After TeamFitness decided this week’s topic would be busyness, I began to think about the chapter on Mindfulness.
Mindfulness to me feels the opposite of busy. Not because being mindful means you don’t have a lot to do, but because mindfulness means being present for exactly what is happening in front of you. And when you focus on what is happening right here and now, the clutter and hamster wheel feelings dissipate. Oprah introduces the chapter with this (emphasis added by me):
There are so many simple pleasures that allow me to delight in the present moment. A long walk in solitude or a spirited hike with friends brings a renewed sense of gratitude and connection. I consider reading a book a sacred indulgence. And I also happen to love a cup of piping hot masal tea. The daily ritual of being at the sink, boiling the water, steaming the milk, and then steeping the tea helps bring me to a place of stillness. Whether it’s watching a sunset, or really feeling the steam of water hit your face in the shower, everyone needs to take time to find a way to quiet themselves.
Allowing these moments of awareness and recognizing that it is a magnificent thing to be alive, regardless of what might be pressing on me, has brought a level of calm that words can’t adequately explain.
Mindfulness is acknowledging only what you are feeling in the moment and not projecting what might happen in the future or lamenting past mistakes. Whatever may be looming on the horizon, you will handle it when it actually arrives. Busyness feels like taking step by step instructions for remodeling a house and throwing all the tasks into a large bowl to figure out what to do first. You can’t look at everything at once and see anything. By taking what is in front of you right now and then consciously moving to what is next, you allow for stillness which helps create the level of calm Oprah mentions. If you define busy as having a lot to do then Oprah is BUSY! But I don’t think she suffers from busyness, which goes beyond the to-do list and into the realm of not wanting to be idle. From presence and stillness - which are both derived from mindfulness - much can be accomplished, and the feeling of doing so isn’t overwhelming or draining.
Oprah said:
My goal is to live my life as a more awakened, vibrant, alive human being. My prayer is to not let any moment pass without my acknowledgment and full experience of it. In order to do that, I’ve got to practice. (my emphasis)
Every single behavior we value requires practice. Be it turning the lights off when you leave a room, responding kindly to someone who’s an irritant, starting your recovery with your hip, or slowing down to acknowledge where you are and how you feel - it all takes practice. The more you do it, the better you become at doing it, and the easier it is. There is always time to practice what you value. You just need to value it enough to practice.
Busyness and How to Get a Handle on It
By Suzanne Frank
I grew up with the notion that you should always be doing something. It could be tasks that needed doing such as housework, dishes, sewing clothes or preserving food or leisure activities like fishing, swimming, watching sports or sitting by a campfire.
My dad was a teacher and an athletic coach/director who was always "busy" although he never used that term. He could very seldom sit still and relax. He had to be doing something. I have to work very hard at just "being". I feel guilty if I'm sitting pleasure reading or not or not doing something "productive". Am I just being lazy??? Guess what, the answer is NO.
Before I retired I would greet my close colleagues and ask "how are you". The response I got 90% of the time was "I'm busy". I found myself giving this reply to others as well. I didn't care about that, we are all busy. I wanted to know how they were, physically or emotionally.
There is a major difference between being busy and being busy enjoying life.
My family tells me I need to sit and relax more and stop my busyness. The laundry will always be with us, but spending time with family and friends is a time to cherish.
These are the steps I have started using to help change my thinking that I always need to be productive. I need to realize that leisure relaxation are important and necessary for my well being.
Feeling "busy" can leave you feeling overwhelmed, stressed, feeling like you didn't give your full attention or effort to and assignment or task and feeling anxious.
My advice is make good choices that will lead you out of the land of "busyness". This may be difficult but practicing this weekly may turn out to be just the thing you need.
Also, if one day I ask you "how are you" please don't respond "busy" rather say I am busy enjoying life! Lol
Pinks Stay Strong Workout
By Suzanne Frank
I grew up with the notion that you should always be doing something. It could be tasks that needed doing such as housework, dishes, sewing clothes or preserving food or leisure activities like fishing, swimming, watching sports or sitting by a campfire.
My dad was a teacher and an athletic coach/director who was always "busy" although he never used that term. He could very seldom sit still and relax. He had to be doing something. I have to work very hard at just "being". I feel guilty if I'm sitting pleasure reading or not or not doing something "productive". Am I just being lazy??? Guess what, the answer is NO.
Before I retired I would greet my close colleagues and ask "how are you". The response I got 90% of the time was "I'm busy". I found myself giving this reply to others as well. I didn't care about that, we are all busy. I wanted to know how they were, physically or emotionally.
There is a major difference between being busy and being busy enjoying life.
My family tells me I need to sit and relax more and stop my busyness. The laundry will always be with us, but spending time with family and friends is a time to cherish.
These are the steps I have started using to help change my thinking that I always need to be productive. I need to realize that leisure relaxation are important and necessary for my well being.
1) Identify the root cause of my busyness. In thinking about this I decided mine was a learned behavior from my childhood. I needed to redefine my definition of what is productive and what is not. Relaxation and taking time for yourself is productive behavior.
2) Tracking my time for a week. You have to strike a balance between activities you have to complete versus activities you want and enjoy doing.
3) Know the purpose for the things you do. Make sure what you do has purpose. Saying "no" is something we need to learn how to say. Learn to take back control of your time by saying no. We don't have to do it all.
4) Prioritize leisure time. Do whatever possible to use your leisure time in intentional, rejuvenating, and recuperative ways. Build in leisure time on your calendar. Don't feel guilty being actively leisure.
5) Disconnect. Make sure you are not spending too much time on your digital devices.
6) Practice Mindfulness. Meditation, exercise, diet and sleep.
7) Slow down and smell the roses.
Feeling "busy" can leave you feeling overwhelmed, stressed, feeling like you didn't give your full attention or effort to and assignment or task and feeling anxious.
My advice is make good choices that will lead you out of the land of "busyness". This may be difficult but practicing this weekly may turn out to be just the thing you need.
Also, if one day I ask you "how are you" please don't respond "busy" rather say I am busy enjoying life! Lol
Busyness and Clutter
What busyness and clutter means to me, or better yet, doesn’t mean to me: It doesn’t mean neglecting yourself. It doesn’t mean filling your days because you’re bored. It doesn’t mean taking care of others before taking care of yourself. To have experienced the busyness within myself during the midst of moving, I neglected to take the time in the morning to refocus and reset. With that came an unsettling feeling. I know what it feels like to take time in the morning for myself and enter the day with an open mind. Yet at times I neglect to do it. At a stressful time when it was most needed, it was what I overlooked because I thought I didn’t have time. The truth is, I don’t have the time not to.
Be good to yourself.
- Coach Oden
Pinks Stay Strong Workout 
