How many conversations have you encountered that go something like this: “Hello friend, how are you?” There is a pause, the shoulders sag, and the universal answer is exhaled: “BUSY!”
“Busyness” seems to be ubiquitous in urban life today. The pace of daily life is speeding up substantially. We rush back and forth between skyscrapers, with personal schedules fully occupied. According to some critics, busyness has become a significant insignia of so-called upper-middle-class status, which is due to one specific reason, that is, the pursuit of success. In their opinions, busyness doesn’t necessarily lead to success. People who are truly successful are not the kind of people who are always involved in busyness. On the contrary, many successful scientists, novelists, and designers appear to be childlike and distractible. Meanwhile, they also claim that many of the busiest people will never be successful, such as waitresses and telephone operators.

However, I personally hold the opposite view that people who are always engaged are not all chasers of the gold medal. The enthusiasm and passion for their work and families is no doubt the strong driving force to devote themselves in the trivial yet meaningful everyday life. Moreover, what busy bees like me value the most is the sense of self-accomplishment busyness brings. When you’re busy, your mind is switched-on and you are constantly thinking, learning and developing. If you’re busy doing a number of different activities, such as learning a new skill, building a business, or even socializing, you are continually stretching yourself, pushing your boundaries, learning more about yourself, your skills and abilities and what you can achieve.

In terms of the difference between successful people and busy people, I don't share the same viewpoint with the critics either. The critics argue that the truly successful are childlike and distractible. But in my point of view, the most essential part to achieve success is the process that one turns an idea in mind into a production in reality, which requires enormous time and energy. During that period, a scientist, a novelist, or a designer may seem quite focused and always in a rush. In other words, success definitely needs busyness to be achieved. In addition, I doubt about the prejudice that waitresses and telephone operators will never be successful, for their work is not totally mindless and repetitive, but has fun and wisdom like any other work and surely can boost their careers.

In summary, busyness is not some cult as critics call it. In fact, I prefer to regard it as a particular product of the age of information explosion. Living in an era when everything changes at an incredibly high rate, we choose to live in busyness rather than in idleness not only to survive, but to realize our own self-worth.