The Busy Barrier

One of my HUGE pet peeves is when people run around like crazy, saying “I’m so busy, I’m so busy!”

I’m not sure precisely why it bugs me, but I think it has something to do with it carrying an underlying message that the person is basically a victim to time.

I came embarrassingly face-to-face with this the other day when a friend called and she started the conversation with, “I won’t take up much of your time, I know you’re so busy.”

I told her that I LOVED that she called, and that I love hearing from her, and why would she think she couldn’t take my time? And then it hit me…

I’ve constructed a “busy barrier”. Without a conscious thought, I’ve been repeating “I’m so busy” as a mantra, and as a result, I’ve created a wall that keeps people away in both my personal and professional lives. Ouch.

I specifically wondered how this might negatively impact my business, and I immediately thought of an example that made me cringe.

You see, I know the owner of a local business who is always late to meetings, out of breath, and talking about how very very busy she is. Recently I had some business that I could have brought to her, but I didn’t want to use her. Why?

1. It didn’t seem like she had the time for my business.
2. I didn’t feel confident in her attention to detail.
3. I worried that she won’t get the work done on time.

Of course, then came the really painful part… looking in the mirror and realizing that I’m probably creating the same kind of reactions in some of the people I meet.

So I’m using myself as a cautionary tale for your benefit. By all means, be busy, but be careful what you’re communicating to the people around you!

Next week – The Busy Barrier, Part Deux.