“I’ve been busy” has become our culture’s socially acceptable way of saying “I exist and have value” without having to prove it or be vulnerable about what we’re actually feeling.

We’ve turned busyness into a virtue signal, a reflexive shield against the discomfort of admitting we’re just… living. Existing. Maybe even struggling.

The truth? Most people saying they’re “busy” either aren’t, or they’ve confused motion with progress, or they just don’t trust you enough to say what’s real.

Busyness is the new fine.

The irony is that when you stop performing busyness and start being honest, you often connect with people in ways that actually matter. And that’s when you realize the “busy” script wasn’t protecting you from judgment, it was protecting you from being relational.

What’s your instinct on this? Do you guys find yourself defaulting to “busy” too, or have you found a way around it?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​