In his biweekly column, Langley Shazor speaks to issues important to men within the territory.
I heard a phrase once that stuck with me, “if you want a successful man, you have to deal with a busy man.” As with many things we discuss here, this phrase must evolve to account for proper context as well as the correct desired outcome. Busyness is not the same as productivity, neither does it equate to success or goal achievement. It is not merely enough to have lots of things going on, to be pulled in multiple directions, having a calendar filled to capacity, etc. There should be a goal in mind that is attainable. All things should be pointing toward that goal and be aligned with its capture.
What I have uncovered in my journey of self-discovery is that I wasn’t asking the right questions. Even as I write this entry, and learning more about large language models, prompt engineering, and artificial intelligence, I realize that I am still not always asking the correct questions. We must dig deeper, go beyond the surface and get to the root of our workaholism and need to stay busy. I would be remiss if I didn’t recommend seeking professional assistance with unpacking some of those behavioral traits, coping, defense, and deflection mechanisms, and avoidant personality symptoms. This courageous step (one that I take every week) is monumental in positive personal development. If you take nothing else away from this article, it is do not be afraid of or to begin therapy.
I also follow a panel of influencers and professionals called “Tonight’s Conversations.” I certainly encourage you all to listen in on some of the topics and perspectives. Recently one of the panelists discussed how the pursuit of success from a purely financial position left men and women devoid of emotional regulation, empathy, compassion, understanding, genuine love, and other appropriate traits for a healthy human being and healthy relationship. This is why getting a proper understanding on what drives you, what your goals are, where you need to improve and how to balance your personal and professional lives is critical to enhancing your overall quality of life. The Word says, “What will you gain if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? What would you give to get back your soul?” (Matthew 16:26 CEV). Ensure that you aren’t losing yourself trying to “keep up with the Jones” or impress people who don’t care about you.
Now, let us begin to dissect the opening statement regarding success and busyness. As we have mentioned, you must first unearth what “success” is for you. What do you want to accomplish with all the work that you are doing? Also, determine if the work is actually taking you to that end or are you using work as an excuse not to confront some things. There is no way to have this discussion without reiterating the importance of root cause analysis and internal inventory assessments. Once some of those things have been addressed, you can begin to re-evaluate and determine if you are going somewhere or simply spinning your wheels under the auspices of being busy. If all the tasks and obligations are not moving you to your predefined goal, you aren’t being productive.
Productivity is not busy for busy sake. It is the framework that creates a process or steps to a desired outcome. The outcome should be what qualifies your definition of success. There is a distinct focus, trajectory, and direction that takes you to a place beyond where you currently are and everything you do should move you one step closer to that goal. People who are undefinably busy have lots of things going on, but it is disjointed. They are dabbling in different areas, trying to find their niche, tribe, or place of impact. This is ok, because we must start somewhere to figure out what our path and calling is. What we are differentiating here is that this part of the process may or may not be productive even though it is very busy. Whether it is or isn’t depends on if you are ruling out certain activities, learning and applying lessons and knowledge, and moving closer to a more purposeful life.
Success should have activities around it that create the pathway for a desired outcome. Productive work is the steps that propel you toward that outcome. These two factors should exist in a vacuum, to say that there shouldn’t be too many things that are distracting you from that journey. They are the rubric that you evaluate all potential introductions into your life plan by. If it doesn’t fit into that plan, you are creating busyness but not productivity. Know the difference and move accordingly.
Langley “Casual-Word” Shazor is a poet, author, publisher, entrepreneur, public speaking coach, podcast host, and pastor who is an advocate for youth and men. His goal is to enlighten, empower, and liberate those who are silenced, marginalized, and enslaved to self-destructive thoughts and behaviors.
Visit thecasualword.com.
Editor’s Note: Opinion articles do not represent the views of the Virgin Islands Source newsroom and are the sole expressed opinion of the writer. Submissions can be made to visource@gmail.com.
