"Busy." Rest In Peace

Week in and week out, one of the most exhausted and often ignored greetings in America ("How are you doing?") keeps getting paired with an impersonal and exceedingly automatic response ("Busy."). I hear this response so much these days that every time it is offered I wish it appeared as a cartoon dialogue balloon out of everyone’s mouth. That way, I could snatch it out of the air and punt it out of the atmosphere (and hopefully out of our vocabulary). This word is being used recklessly around America, and when I hear it, I have to ask myself, “Are we this boring?”

“Busy” is never expressed in a tone of excitement. We tend to be somewhat sluggish, reluctant and almost embarrassed when saying this nasty four-letter word.

This four-letter word needs to go. Let’s bury it! I’m sick of seeing family, friends, and co-workers victimized by this tiny sliver in our dictionary. We enjoy FULL lives with big dreams. We are busy. When did that start to carry so much heavy baggage?

When you graduate from Michigan, you don’t spend the rest of your days lying on your back. Busy is your destiny. Wake UP! It’s exciting!!! As long as the word “busy” rests in the graveyard, you can start to express your life as “eventful” – “active” – “industrious” – “engaged” – “lively”.

In the workplace, managers need to be very careful about how often they relay their status as “busy.” People seek managers for direction, support, advice, and resources. If a manager constantly says he/she is “busy,” then he/she starts to become unapproachable. Being unapproachable is a negative characteristic, and it can be a source of frustration producing countless other barriers that make it difficult for people to perform well.

Michigan graduates thousands of future managers and team leaders, so as you get ready to take on those professional roles, keep the word “busy” buried in the ground. When you find your life FULL of people, decisions, and responsibilities, it doesn’t hurt to smile at yourself and let everybody know that lying on your back is for dead people.