Harnassing the White Rabbit Syndrome

Harnessing the White Rabbit syndrome

By allowing yourself the time and space to think and feel and

discern what really matters, you will give yourself the gift of a

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE might be

exciting, but are you living

quickly at the expense of living

Learn to say no to busyness and yes to what really matters.

“I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date. No time”…..was the retort of

the white rabbit to Alice when she was asking for his help in Lewis

Carroll’s beloved children’s book Alice in Wonderland.

In the early 90’s I was living in Toronto, working at the job of a lifetime, as

the Project Director for the World’s Fair Bid and involved closely with the

There I was living in the fast lane - traveling to Paris, and wheeling and

dealing in the international business and diplomatic world. I was single,

had a 6 figure income, drove a hot red sports car, and had many

invitations to all the chic and happening events in Toronto. But the reality

was a far cry from the perceived success.

My days were long, my schedule packed and my body and spirit were

suffering. I never felt that I had the time to do what I wanted, much less

create what really mattered in my life. I was simply overwhelmed with

busyness and stress. One day, I had lunch with a friend who asked me a

simple question that changed my life forever.

She asked me if I was happy.

This question, made me stop and catch my breath for a brief moment. In

that moment, I realized even my so-called 'free' time was scheduled at

such a fast pace that it left me breathless, and then I knew I wanted to

make some serious changes to my life. I was at an important crossroad in

I know for me and so many others, that being so busy made me feel

productive and involved in life, but in reality can present an insidious and

potentially critical threat to both our long-term health and our quality of

Fortunately for me, at almost the same time, my employer announced a

new executive sabbatical program - a fancy term for a one-year unpaid

leave. I was the first one out!

In 1994, I was introduced to network marketing and began the

challenging process of learning, for the first time in my life, what it means

to become the CEO of my own life or master of my own destiny. It has

been enlightening to understand the role that busyness played in my life.

Now that I coach so many others, I realize many of us default to busyness

WHY WE DEFAULT TO BUSYNESS

According to Edward M. Hallowell, MD, author of the new book

Crazybusy: Overstretched, Overbooked and About to Snap! (Ballantine,

2006), our perpetual state of being overwhelmed has become a norm of

sorts. We’re convinced that being busy is fun, he writes. Being busy is a

status symbol. We’re busy because we feel we must be. We’re busy

because everyone else is busy.” Sound familiar?

Then there is the biological drive to busyness. When we’re busy, we feel

a rush from our bodies flooding with adrenalin.

In fact, says Cheryl Richardson in Take Time for Your Life: A 7 Step

Program for Creating the Life You Want. (Broadway 1999), adrenalin can

be addictive and it is the “drug of choice” for many men and women who

seem to enjoy the rush it provides.

Keeping busy might give us

short-term temporary payoffs

such as feeling revved up,

productive, needed, and

worthwhile, but if we’re not doing

what’s truly most meaningful in

our lives many experts say, such

harried activity can cost us

In an effort to fit more and more tasks into our already cramped lives,

says Hallowell, it’s easy to create a “can’t see the forest for the trees”

situation where we lose sight of our own big-picture priorities.

“Being too busy prevents people from setting their own temperature,

controlling their own lives," says Hallowell. “It does other harm as well,

like increasing toxic stress, releases a cascade of cortisol (the stress

hormone), making people sick, causing accidents, turning polite people

rude, and reducing the general level of happiness in the population. But

the greatest damage it does is that it keeps a person from what’s most

important to them in their lives.”

Through the years of coaching many people, I see that people will cling to

busyness for many subconscious reasons and it varies from person to

In network marketing I see the most common reason is people are afraid

of trying-and failing-at their biggest dreams, so they busy themselves with

The trouble is aside of sapping our lives of meaning and deeper

satisfaction, keeping ourselves overly busy also gives rise to anxiety and

stress, paving the way for an overtaxed adrenal system, depression,

weight gain or infertility, among other imbalances. It also leaves us illequipped

to make thoughtful decisions that could make our lives better.

So how do you jump off the busy track and start to live more fully?

As a life coach, I will ask someone,”What do you want? Think in terms of

what your heart truly longs for."

It astonishes me how many people are unable to answer that basic

question. So I will suggest they spend some time quietly doing a selfassessment.

Ask themselves,”when were they the happiest?” “What were

they doing?" “What areas of their life are causing the most stress?” “What

is their purpose?” What gives them the most meaning in their daily lives?"

“If I only had a year to live, what would I change?”

Once this self-assessment is completed, it is much easier to start

prioritizing more of your time and then focus in the areas of your most

We all know the universal principle of what we give our attention, will

expand. A lesson to remember!

I believe that nothing beats the

joy of living your life according to

your values and on purpose.

Yes it can be tough to learn to trust yourself and your instincts when life

has so many competing demands.

Yes it can be challenging to put boundaries into your relationships and

gently say NO more than yes!

Today I understand that by allowing yourself the time and space to think

and feel and discern what really matters, you will give yourself the gift of a

fabulously meaningful life.

And that is definitely something

worth jumping off the busy track