Stressed vs. Busy

This is a topic that I find myself thinking and talking about often. I’m sharing it today in hopes that you will digest it and see if you need to make any changes in your life. Your life can look very different from the outside than it actually is, so I think it will be helpful to read the whole post through and ask yourself if there are any changes you want to make. I find that this is especially important to discuss as the holidays draw closer and the new year will be upon us shortly.

I am personally a very busy person. If you go all the way back to when I was in high school, it is a part of my personality. I played a sport almost every season, was a good student and just overall did better being busy. I don’t enjoy having too much free time on my hands to sit around. I’ve never been much of a TV watcher so Netflix binge-watching has never been my thing either. I like to keep my schedule FULL of things to do, places to visit, work to do, books to read, etc.

Someone once asked me how I do it? They wondered about how stressed I must be because my plate is always full and I’m always doing things. My answer is simply this:

There is a big difference between being stressed and being busy.

Which do you fall under? You do not have to busy to be stressed, but you can be busy and not be stressed.

Are you stressed up to your ears? So much so that you are anxious, don’t sleep well, always feel like you cannot get enough done or finish your TO-DO list? Or are you just doing a lot, but enjoying it and simply are busy?

I LOVE what I do. I spend about 36ish hours nannying a week (BECAUSE I LOVE IT), and I spend about 15 to 20 hours on my business (seeing clients, emailing clients, creating content for my blog and instagram, etc), and during bridal season I’m gone most Saturdays doing bridal makeup. I love what I do and I highly encourage you to look at how you are spending your time. Is it bringing you a sense of accomplishment and are you feeling passionate about how you spend your time? Or are you stressed and hating every minute of it? Sometimes we have to deal with temporary stress on our journeys to being able to focus on our passions, but I want you to think about the next question.

If you find yourself stressed and on the way to burnout, are there any changes you can make to lessen your stress?

We all have stressful seasons of life, but what I’m talking about is the pattern of life you are creating. If there is no end in sight, if you aren’t loving your career, if you CAN make a change, dig deep and do some soul searching.

I didn’t write this post to give you answers. I simply want you to question the route you are headed and know that it is never too late to make a change for yourself. Think about how you truly spend your time and if it’s causing stress, love yourself enough to make the change to bring about happiness, if it is within your means…and guess what? It usually is!

I hope to always continue on the path of keeping myself busy with passion projects that exhilarate me and help others. After working so hard in a stressful environment in previous years, I promise myself that I will always evaluate where I’m headed to keep me busy but less stressed. Will you make that same promise for yourself? I hope so.

Comment below your thoughts on this post and weigh in on the conversation!

Have a beautiful day,

Andrea