The Busy Syndrome. Or shall we call it the 2017 syndrome? Oh, you know what I'm talking about. It's our favorite excuse to cancel on dinner plans. It's our go-to response to the question of how are you doing. We live in a fast-paced, technology-driven world, leaving us no time to breathe in between work, family, friends, exercise, and events.

At some point, we have added so much to our plates and become so spread thin that we forget to focus on the stuff that really matters. This game of life we are playing should not be treated like the board game. There is no cash prize or brownie points for successfully accomplishing your huge "to do" list for the day if you've left no time to actually LIVE.

I think it's time to wake up. Are you too busy to create some time to relax? Are you too busy to spend quality time with your kids? Too busy to drop your plans to help a friend in need? Or are you so busy that you can't even respond to a text?

Isn't life more than the mere tasks at hand for the day? No one likes feeling like the people they care about are too busy for them. You make time for what's important to you; it's called prioritizing. But what if our generation has their schedules so filled up, that we have forgotten to make time for WHO is important.

I am guilty of the "busy syndrome." I am utterly exhausted from running around from thing to thing trying to give 100% energy to each and I don't see how I can take something out right now.

But here's what everybody is forgetting: The 'busy syndrome' is a CHOICE. We choose to chain ourselves to the obligation after obligation after obligation… Busyness is not an inevitable condition; rather it’s our own decision to live a work consuming life.

Let’s face the facts. Most of what we do during the day doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. It’s time to go back and live life at a more relaxed pace.

But how is this possible when you’re completely booked hour to hour? I think perhaps the biggest misconception in terms of ‘busyness’ is that it is just a season of life. Oh, summer is around the corner, I’ll be less busy then. THINK AGAIN. Kids are out of school, there are summer internships and jobs, family vacations, bonfires, beach days, music festivals, etc. etc.

I don’t know about you, but I have been in busy season after busy season after busy season… Slowing my life down is not just going to happen overnight. Instead, it’s time for me to be intentional about enjoying my life.

This article is my vow to be intentional about making time for others. I am making the conscious decision to create time for the people I care about and slow down my life pace. I CHOOSE life.