The Culture of “Busy” is Burning Us Out

By: Emily - Mindful Career Journey

Somewhere along the way, "How have you been?" turned into:

• “Busy, but good”

• “Crazy busy”

• “Swamped, as usual”

• “Back-to-back meetings, you know how it is”

You get the idea.  And we nod in agreement, like this is the cost of being ambitious, successful, or valuable.  We don’t hear “Good” period……it always starts with busy, swamped, crazy……fill in the blank.

We’ve normalized a version of “success” that looks like chronic exhaustion.

We glorify long workdays.
We answer emails at midnight.
We treat rest like a reward instead of a right.

This culture of “busy” is not a badge of honor, it’s a fast track to burnout.  And while it’s become the norm, it is NOT normal.

Burnout isn’t a personal failure.  It’s a symptom of systems and expectations that reward overwork and punish boundaries.

We tend to forget that:
You can be driven without being depleted.
You can lead without losing yourself.
You can be successful without sacrificing your health and joy.

LET’S STOP GLORIFYING BUSY.