How to lead in a world of busy

“But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” —Luke 10:41-42

The first two months of this year have been filled with many moments that have caused me to wonder, “How did I end up here?” Perhaps you can relate to my “here.” Sometimes, we realize that we have agreed to too many things and haven't said “no” enough, or when we find ourselves overcommitted and have to cancel appointments and meetings or miss deadlines. There are also moments when we wake up in the middle of the night, realizing that we forgot to do something important, like make a call, answer an email, or return a message. This situation is filled with busyness and constant doing, which might be familiar to you. If you do relate to this, how do we get away from “here?”

As I reflect on everything I’ve been juggling and the feeling of overwhelm, I deduced that I was dealing with hurry sickness. Cardiologists Meyer Friedman and R.H. Rosenman coined "hurry sickness" in their 1985 book Type A Behavior and Your Heart. Hurry sickness frequently involves an undercurrent of anxiety, consistent with feeling rushed or anxious and the need to get things done. You might be thinking, “I don’t have a type A personality, so this doesn’t apply to me.”

Let me dissuade you of this belief. We succeed in our environment where our work, research, clinical practice, healthcare delivery, and education have life-and-death implications because we are high achievers. We are also helpers. Our helpfulness is reflected when I interact with any of you, whether students or employees; I am impressed by our shared purpose and dedication to achieving the institution's mission, vision, and values. We prioritize and strive to ensure that tasks are completed efficiently and effectively.

For all of us Martha types, when we feel stretched, we may even ask, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?" The answer continues to be to sit with Jesus and work from rest. Working from rest is the antidote for hurry sickness. This is how to navigate the liminality of "doing" and "being."

The author of The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, John Mark Comer, said, "Hurry is not just a symptom of a busy life, but a weapon that steals our joy and peace." He also states, "The solution to an over-busy life is not more time. It's to slow down and simplify our lives around what really matters."

So here's my action plan—lead from rest. That looks like engaging in daily, weekly, and monthly times of prayer, silence, and solitude. It means practicing self-compassion when I fall back into doing. It also means creating margins in my schedule and saying fewer yeses.

Will you join me?

—Dilys Brooks, PhD, BCC, is campus chaplain for Loma Linda University.