11 Reasons Why We Hurry
Why, Why, Why?
Why do we hurry? Have you ever thought about it? Below are 11 possible reasons. There are more reasons but this will give you a good start.
1. Did you hear “Well done” ?
Many of us were raised by parents who were not taught to tell us “Well done”. If we received a B on a report card, we weren’t told how proud they were of us, we were challenged to strive for the A. Here we are 20, 30, 50 years later and we find ourselves hurrying and scurrying around still trying to earn that “Well done”.
2. Are you driven?
Many of us feel good about ourselves only through their accomplishments. They are not content with who they are as a person so they strive to climb the career ladder at work, head as many community committees as they can or volunteer for a multitude of responsibilities at their place of worship. They are driven to accomplish more and more so that they can feel better about themselves.
3. Are you preoccupied with symbols of accomplishment?
Many people are pre-occupied with symbols of their and/or their spouse’s accomplishments. They want a bigger house, more job recognition, a nicer car, fancier furnishings, and a bigger boat. There is nothing wrong with trying to better ourselves and our circumstances. Driven men and women, however, tend to go overboard and become preoccupied with the symbols of their accomplishments, always needing more.
4. Are you a stressaholic?
Adrenalin in our body is a socially acceptable drug. A stressaholic thinks he or she must finish one more thing and then he or she can relax. They then go on, however, to the next project without a break. They believe that they must be constantly productive and continues to push themselves day after day seeking perfection in himself/herself and in others. They can’t stop. They are hooked on a high level of adrenalin — they are addicted to stress.
5. Are you trying to look important?
As we hurry and scurry and puff our way through our busyness, others stand back and think, “How important he or she must be, look how FAST he or she isgoing!” Even if no one is watching, they sense that the imaginery audience is cheering him or her on and he or she responds by going faster to please them.
6. Are you trying to make yourself indispensable?
By having the household, work projects, and committees depend totally on you, subtly you are striving to gain power by making yourself indispensable. Also, sometimes we have friends who take, take, take but never give back to you. Are you unavailable to those who mean the most to you because you’ve made yourself indispensable to some who want to use you?
7. Are you trying to avoid responsibilities?
By being too busy, unwanted responsibilities and unpleasant tasks are pushed into the background. Many would rather be President of the Society to Preserve Societies than to quietly, day in and day out, care for an ailing elderly parent.
8. Are you avoiding new experiences or change?
By being too busy, we can avoid new experiences and resist change. It is much easier to be busy doing familiar tasks than to learn new skills or have new experiences. There are classes to take, new books to read, new skills to learn and new people to meet. Our busyness can prevent the addition of new experiences in our lives.
9. Are you avoiding everyday home responsibilities?
By being too busy, we can shirk our home responsibilities of caring for our families. Car repair, meal preparation, yard upkeep, laundry or cleaning isn’t done or done well. It is easier and more fun to do the flashy than the seemingly mundane.
10. Are you making yourself unavailable?
By being too busy we can hedge ourselves in with busyness so that we are unavailable to those around us. It takes far less time and energy to have a surface relationship with someone than it does to establish a loving, caring relationship which gains depth through the years.
11. Are you trying to ease guilt?
By being too busy, we can try to ease some of the guilt we feel because we sense that our life is too easy. Every day we are bombarded with the latest tragedies in our world — bombings, train derailments, deadly storms…. In comparison, our corner of the world seems quite plush.
Do you see yourself in any of these reasons for WHY you hurry? Once we know WHY, we can self-correct on this path called life so that our lives can be lived in a purposeful way!
Author of “Balance for the Hurried Woman”, specializing in time management and health issues. Contact deuwriter333@gmail.com.
