Hispanic Business Owners, Crush the Busyness Syndrome to Be More Successful

Be more successful by operating differently based on identifying priorities

“Busy is that drug that a lot of people are addicted to.”  – Rob Bell

Here are the million-dollar questions:  What are you so busy doing?  What’s in it for you? How is that affecting you, your life, your business, and those around you?  And is there a better way?

Busyness is often associated with success because “the hustle” has become a popular way to get things done.  Because of that, as a Hispanic business owner you likely identify being busy as something positive – a badge of honor – and want to show it off.

A method that is useful in helping you understand how and why you choose to stay busy is a 3-level approach around physiology, language and beliefs. It helps us understand what we do when we go into certain states of being – in this case being busy – and how it can easily      turn into worse states like overwhelm, or even anger.

In order to prevent that from happening and turn it around we need to ask these three quality questions at each level:

1. Physiology – What happens to you physically when you’re busy? What is your body experiencing when it’s feeling this sense of busyness? Are you standing, pacing, tense or relaxed?  How are your face and hands –tense or relaxed? How’s your breathing –      deep or shallow? Notice how you react when you’re ‘acting busy’. Notice it.  Be aware of it so you can refocus your physical state/symptoms.
2. Language – What language are you using? What incantations are you saying to yourself? Things like “I have to do this”, “there’s no other way around this”, “I’m always going to be this busy”, “no one can help me”, “I’m all alone in this”, etc.
   Think about how you can shift the language you’re using here.  What’s a new metaphor you can use for this?
3. What’s the meaning, belief, rule, or value this represents for you? Here, we address the deeper levels. Do you believe busyness means you’re a good person or parent, or it keeps you from feeling ‘lazy’, or unsuccessful?. Ask yourself, are those beliefs true? Have they actually made you successful?  What’s really most important to you in life?

To break out of the 3-level cycle, first stop and notice, then ask yourself those questions.  With those answers you can start to redefine what it is you ultimately desire to break out of: Old ways of looking at success.  Then act.  Change what it means for you, change how you talk about it, change how you physically act it out.  That changes the negative pattern of busyness.

The last piece to the puzzle is a deeper understanding of where it comes from, and the clarity to know that the lifestyle or mentality of busyness is not sustainable.  Also, that you now get to choose where to go from this moment forward with priorities.

Every day Hispanic business owners have to make choices and we should consider the choices we are making toward the priorities that really matter.  Start with what really matters, and then pick and choose.  Now is the time to operate differently based on those priorities.

Here are a five new tools:

1. Don’t complain, say ‘I get to, not I have to’ (Gratitude)
2. Work smarter not harder – Use prioritizing principles from the book  7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Place importance both on things that you need to do as well as the things you want to do just because they make you happy.     .
3. Ask for help and learn to say NO – stop rescuing and saving everyone when you yourself could use some help.
4. Write things you must do in your calendar or make a list on paper. This way you get it out of your head and into a tangible viewable format as a reminder.
5. Leave space in your life and in your list. Whether it’s in meditation, just breathing, just being, sitting, etc.

Here are four books I recommended to continue your success journey:

• 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey
• The No Complaining Rule – Jon Gordon
• Four Agreements – Miguel Ruiz
• Bringing Out the Best in People – Alan Loy McGinnis

Related content:

How to Maximize Your Time

Improving Your Time Management Skills

The Time is Now…”Re-gifting” Back to Yourself