There is a statement that I have always abhorred. Yes, I have that
much disgust for a statement. Not entirely healthy but there it is. What
is this statement?
I’M BUSY!
And all variations of. Now, let me clarify a bit. We are all busy at
times in our life but the bottom line is that most of us wear ‘busyness’
as a badge. We love to tell people that we are busy. We love to look
busy. Why? Pride maybe. Self esteem maybe. Hell, I have no idea. The sad
truth, however, is that we do.
There is a distinction we must make. Busyness and Fruitfulness are
two very different beasts. Lets begin with definitions (as they apply to
this situation) shall we?
Busyness – the act of becoming involved in many different projects and good causes when not necessarily good for us.
Fruitfulness – the act of producing quality products.
Many times in the knitwear industry I hear about how ‘busy’ people
are. They are buried under work or pulling all night-ers. It seems like
such a rough life. To constantly be so busy that it looks like you are
not enjoying life. I mean really, we don’t design knitwear for the work.
After all we get paid a menial amount for all we do. We design it
because this is what we love to do. However, we must not forget we are
businesses. Each and every one of us work to make a living wage in an
industry where this is one of the most difficult tasks to conquer.
When we choose to fill our calenders with busy tasks…are we really benefiting ourselves?
A few months ago I was really burnt out. I mean literally to the
point of never wanting to pick up a crochet hook or knitting needle
again. I was stretching my own patience, the patience of my family, and
I’m sure the patience of the man upstairs. My life sucked. However, I
thought that was what I needed. Everyone else was busy so I needed to be
busy too. I felt like I was falling behind. I thought that was what
people did. It was wrong but the constant comments of busyness were all
over twitter. Nearly all of my knit industry friends talked about how
stressed and ‘busy’ they were.
This was life, I often thought, if I want to be a knitwear designer I have to put in 70-80 hours a week.
I was so, so, so wrong.
How did I change my outlook? Well I did something I never thought I
would do. I said, ‘NO!’ and what a liberating feeling that was. I
cancelled a few contracts (yes you can do that!) cleared my schedule for
a couple of weeks. Let myself rest and knit what I wanted. Sure it was
rough. Yes, I squirmed the entire time.
However that detox time was
needed to transition. During this time I thought of six questions I must
ask myself before I choose to accept any commission.
1. Is this just because I have time or is this a meaningful task that will benefit me?
2. Does this aide me to fulfill my ultimate business goal?
3. Do I really want to do this?
4. Am I using my talents?
5. Will I feel pressured or controlled by anyone else?
6. When will I see tangible results from this work?
Whenever I accept a new commission I have to answer these questions
honestly and openly. If they all work out positively than I will accept
the commission. However if they don’t, even if just one answer is
negative I have to say ‘No’.
Why just one? Because I have to choose to be at my best. I am sick of
simply being ‘good’. I don’t want to be a ‘good’ designer when I can be
the ‘best’. Am I the best? Not by a long shot, however I have that
potential and because I am selective that means I get to put more into
each individual project. If you want to bear good fruit you need to make
asking yourselves these questions a priority.
How do I become fruitful?
Fruitfullness comes because of one thing. Smart
decisions. Honestly. You have to learn how to make decisions based on
what is good for you and your business, not because you don’t want to
say ‘no’ or because you are afraid of being told ‘no’ in the future. How
do you learn to make these decisions? Well, that is a very personal
thing. For me I consult Jesus. However, I am a christian. If your not,
then do you. Do what you need to do to get inside your head, heart, and
hands to see how you really operate.
Is busyness really bad?
No. It is not that bad in the grand scheme of things.
However, we need to look at something small scale. When you are
constantly busy you will eventually burn out. Busyness can affect your
business, your family, and your relationships. Busyness affects your
ability to relax and have fun. Busyness causes stress.
When you choose to live in busyness you are choosing to live in
unhappiness. Personally I have had to reteach myself how to have fun and
how to relax. I literally forgot how much fun getting out and watching
the world could be. I have had to learn how to enjoy life and spend time
with those that mean the most to me.
What if work doesn’t come?
Chances are you will go through a period of time where business will
slow down. This is needed. You have to get over it. Negativity resides
in the pressure busyness creates. Busyness simply clogs the way toward
absolute success. We get so busy that we cannot even see the path that
we should be following. Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel
becomes nothing more than a dream because we have built a wall up in the
tunnel. In order for us to avoid this trap we need to “learn to sense
what is vital and approve and price what is excellent and of real value
[recognizing the highest and the best and distinguishing the moral
differences]” (Phillippians 1:10) Yes I just pulled out a Bible verse…but it fits doesn’t it?
The bottom line…
In the end you have one important question to ask that should rule over all the others. Are you enjoying your life?
Everything you do in life should be for the betterment of you and
your family. Life is not meant to be lived under the loom of deadlines,
stress, fear, and busyness. Take a look at your life and examine what
the actual fruit you are producing is. If you are on the right path it
will be obvious. If you need to change a few things that will be just as
obvious. Do you have a sense of accomplishment rather than frustration?
When you get into balance and shimmy onto the right path you will know
it. You will enjoy your life much more and experience a true sense of
accomplishment that only comes from being fruitful.
Each of us are destined to bear good fruit. Whether that is in
business or in life. So take a bit of time and think about your
business, your life, and your path. Pray, fast, meditate, have a drink,
sleep on it, whatever you need to do, do that and allow yourself to
relax. Make decisions in wisdom.
Bottom line…think about what you are doing before you agree to do it.
