Are you so busy that you can’t stop to scratch yourself, let alone think?  When you do stop for a moment, does your mind run a list of all the things you could or should be doing, rather than resting?  Are you running on adrenaline all the time? Is your life full of ‘doing’ and not being? Do you dream of great time management but never quite get there?

One thing I regularly see in my practice is how some people can keep perpetually busy – too busy to stop and think.  They always have drama in their life, telling me how they are overcoming yet another challenge or how they were too busy this week to take the actions that they wanted to, to change their life. They never stop - they are always on the go.  I am not talking about normally extroverted people, who gain their energy from being with other people, but people who run their life to the point of exhaustion.  I am also not talking about people who have difficulty saying “no” to others, although this is often a related issue.

Someone once said that keeping a complicated life is a sure fire way of avoiding changing it.  It is almost as if by constantly being on the move, they can keep a few steps ahead of their problems and fears.  The problem is that the fears, inner traumas and problems don’t go away – they are like your shadow, hounding your heels.  When you finally do stop, they are still there waiting for you to look at them.  As an ex-champion runner away from problems, I can attest that they will catch you in the end. 

The lesson is to stop and think at a time that is at your choosing.  Deal with the issues hounding you before they deal with you. Many people with chronic illnesses say that getting sick was a blessing, as it forced them to stop and re-evaluate their life and what is important.   Wouldn’t it have been great to have dealt with this before the illness? 

I have also seen many people go on leadership and other personal or business development programs and have the same result.  Many such courses get a reputation as being marriage breakers, when often it is the act of thinking and not the content that causes the person to realize how unhappy they have been for some time.  The content is almost irrelevant to the outcomes.

Holidays can have the same effect, which is why people often fight and say what has been bubbling under the surface for some time during holidays.

So what can you do if you are a champion runner?

• Consciously stop for a few minutes
• Check out how you feel when you stop – are you antsy, anxious or guilty?
• Breathe deeply (often you will find you have been breathing shallowly for some time)
• Ask yourself what am I avoiding doing, looking at or saying by keeping on the move?
• Ask how is my running looking after me?
• Give yourself one free day – nothing planned, nowhere to go, nothing to do – except think. If you have kids – do this while they are asleep or at school – do nothing except think (if this is too hard combine thinking with a long soak in the bath).
• Talk with a trusted friend – make a pact for them to tell you if they catch you being too busy to think.
• Once you have thought things through – then put your plans in action.
• As many of our children get taught at school, remember – Stop, Think, Do.

Ingrid Cliff is a Brisbane based Business Development and Human Resources Consultant to Small and Medium Businesses with her company Heart Harmony www.heartharmony.com.au.