3 Ways to transform Busyness into Happiness

Health lies in action, and so it graces youth. To be busy is the secret of grace, and half the secret of content. Let us ask the gods not for possessions, but for things to do; happiness is in making things rather than in consuming them.
~ William James Durant


For most of my life my mental health has suffered from doing TOO much. Over achieving, over scheduling, over committing… you name it.

I would often go through bouts of over working myself followed by days or weeks of complete avoidance and overwhelm, which I sometimes called “vacation”.

Eventually these "vacations" turned into episodes of depression and numbness, from which I would eventually find a way to bounce back... to the safe, familiar anchor of over-productiveness.

Over time I have made significant changes in my life to slow down. Only to realize that "slowing down" is also one of the many facades of avoidance.

It wasn’t until I learned how to connect with my body. My divinity. My own inner wisdom. That I realized how important doing is for my mental health.

Recently I experienced a very triggering moment in which I collapsed into numbness again. My mind was consumed with endless checklists of things I needed to do but couldn't do as I nursed my sick toddler. 

Luckily my husband caught this right away and supported me by creating time for my true anchors - meditation and exercise.

I reconnected with my body. My intuition. My truth: The examined values and mantras I have been working so hard to create.  In addition to resting, I noticed my body wanted to do.

Here are three examples of what this looked like throughout the week:

1. Whenever I was unsure about what to do next, I checked in with my body and did the thing that felt warm. (Thank you Martha beck!)

Ex: Should I write up this newsletter right now or sweep the floor?

I felt a tightness in my stomach imagining writing the newsletter and I literally smiled out loud imagining sweeping the floor while listening to Mariah Carey’s Butterfly album. (And if you feel skeptical that this means I won’t ever get real work done, I challenge you to have more trust in the goodness of our humanity. I’m currently in bed nursing my son as I type up this newsletter on my phone because my body literally couldn’t wait to write this right here, right now.) (Also, you should know I don't usually want to sweep the floor but it was strangely the most satisfying and enjoyable thing I did that day.) 

2. I filtered my Subconscious thoughts from my Chosen ones.

Ex: My daughter and I are going over her math worksheets. She gets distracted and starts to play. I notice my annoyance.

Subconscious Thought: I have so much to do. Let’s get this over with.

Chosen thought: I want learning to be fun. Let’s play for five minutes and return to the worksheet.


3. I noticed my pressure driven time-line and welcomed Nature's patience:

Ex:  I lost the gasket for my favorite water bottle. My mind quickly took me to Amazon so I can buy a new one. As I was about to click on "Buy Now", I heard a voice within me telling me to wait. Maybe I can be creative and figure out a way to solve this problem without consuming one more thing?

A few days later, I was putting away an old water bottle that we no longer use into the donation box. Guess what! The gasket from this bottle was exactly the same size as my favorite water bottle.

I smiled with pride as I used my water bottle again, grateful to be able to see how creative we can be when we stop seeking for more and realize we already have everything we need. 



A certain type of busyness can turn us into machines. When we stop running on autopilot and instead connect to the natural order of things, we tap into an infinite source of wisdom.

By paying attention to our body's compass a little more, joy just feels like a natural right of passage.

We hear when our body tell us it needs to rest and we do it. We listen to when it wants to play and we do it.

And then, when we do work, we do it with enthusiasm through a soul that feels connected, alive and ready to be used.

I don’t expect every day to be great. I expect my auto pilot to take over more often than not.

I also expect to use my body's wisdom to bounce me right back into alignment.

Somewhere along the road, I learned that doing only applied to “work” and being "productive".

Now I see that doing is in everything. 

Laughing is doing.

Sweeping is doing.

Writing is doing.

Meditating is doing.

Napping is doing.

Smelling roses is doing.

So, yes I agree. It is in doing that we find our true happiness and fulfillment.

Yet, the type of “doing” can make or break Durant’s quote.
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