This statement was made by a friend, in response to another friend’s laundry list of all she had to do. It’s become a joke between a small group of us. Whenever someone starts whining about how overscheduled she is, the response is generally “you don’t own busy.”
Lately, I’ve been feeling overwhelmed, in large part because one of the items on my “to do” list is taking up not only actual time, but also mental time. Even when I’m not working on it, my brain is churning on it. I’ve really been feeling like “I own busy.”
But I don’t own busy. And my “I’m too busy to run” attitude has got to stop. Yes, I have a lot of balls in the air. Yes, my kids are doing everything they can to make sure I have no free time. Yes, I may come down with their nasty cold right in time for a presentation.
But I don’t own busy. Sure, a two hour run is out of the question. Hitting up the gym for weights AND elliptical. Yeah, not going to happen. 90 minute Bikram yoga class? No way.
I can still:
- Go for a short run
- Ride my bike for a few minutes extra after kid dropoff
- Hit up some squats, pushups, and crunches while I’m folding laundry
- Add a few extra trips to the different levels of my house
- Oh, and now would probably be a good time to get that FitDesk out of the box…
Sure, those aren’t the kind of workouts that are going help me make major strides towards my fitness goals. Sometimes, though, you have to just settle for not moving backwards. When life gets a little crazy, I need to remember that it’s better to feed my family (healthy) simple meals and let the house get a little out of control. Because when something has to give, it shouldn’t be my health and fitness.
You are awesome
Bookmarking this and reminding myself of it over and over. Thanks 🙂
Reminding myself that getting my workout in helps relieve the stress of being busy helps me understand how essential it is.
Love this! I agree, a little dirt on the floor never hurt anyone:) But a mom who didn’t get her workout in might hurt someone:)
This is one of the reasons why I run early in the morning. Life somehow always gets in the way later in the day.
Love this!
Love this – great reminder! Thanks!!
Thanks for the tips on little things here and there that don’t take a lot of time but make a difference when it comes to getting that activity in each day.
A perfectly-timed post. Thank you.
i love it!!! I definitely try to keep this in mind when I start whining about how I feel etc, we all have our own things to deal with and we can all make the choice to keep on moving anyhow!
LOL, too funny and true. I own busy…………
I so agree. Squeeze something in.
This week I’m focusing on the food. If weight loss/fitness/hot abs are 80% made in the kitchen, why don’t I focus on that with an eating plan? I hope I can stick with it for more than two days this time.
I passed on the bread at lunch yesterday, and just passed up an ice cream cone at work. Baby steps!
Man these days I think I own busy. I know I don’t but life is so hectic, some of my own choosing. Work is pushing me over the edge right now. Clean house? Maybe not. Time to run/bike/swim. Yes, I will find it somehow.
You’re so right. It’s actually not that hard to make our lifestyles healthier just by doing a little extra and not making a big chore out of it.
Thank you so much for this blog!! I am the queen of “owning busy.” Have found that I’m just too tired is often a bogus excuse I use way WAY too much (especially during my pregnancy!) You have once again given me that small bit of motivation to just keep myself on track until I’m through my pregnancy, holding my lil one in pure bliss and saying “I love you, but Mommy is off to run!” hehe 😉
yes yes yes I SO GET THE NOTION of sometimes you have to embrace just not going backwards.
Awesome! I, too, feel like I own busy at times. But the truth is that when I make the time to refresh my body (and mind) with even a short workout, the benefits I reap more than outweigh the loss of sleep or the dirty house. It’s hard not to get into that vicious cycle of making yourself last on your to-do list, but it’s worth the effort to keep your physical and mental wellness a priority.
I may have to steal “you don’t own busy.” That’s awesome. And you’re right, it is so easy to convince yourself that you don’t have time, when really it is there, it is just not optimal. Usually.