#WORLDCLASS Leader | Page 38

Is ‘I’m Busy’ the Socially Acceptable Way of Saying ‘Eff You?’ Back in December 2013, the poo hit the fan in my little world. I had been soooo busy and soooo stressed for soooo long that I wound up soooo in the hospital with extreme exhaustion. Since then, I have become very aware of others and my own busy-ness, and there are two truths I have discovered around being busy. M A R I E TRUTH #1: It’s insulting when you go on and on about how you cannot possibly do something because you are oh so busy. When you say to someone “I am so busy,” what you are essentially saying is “You are not a priority to me.” No, this is not true all the time, but, in my findings, it is more often than not. And, more importantly, when I have dug deep into what I really mean when I tell someone I am so busy — and what others have told me when they do the same — is that we are trying to make an excuse for why we don’t want to do something for or spend time with a certain person. Simply put, it’s a socially acceptable way of saying “eff off.” “Sorry I haven’t called. I’ve been so busy.” D E L C I O P P O 3 8 W O R L D C L A S S M AG A Z I N E S . C O M | JA N UA RY 2 0 1 5