Busy and Happy

By Jenny Smith, CPA, CFE

I have a friend who posts to social media the quotes from her daily calendar. They are often inspirational and practical to everyday life. Earlier this week, she posted this quote:

“Stop talking about how busy you are. Focus on what you enjoy about what you do and the spaces in between the doing instead of feeling weighed down by it all. Decide that you live in an awesome, relaxed life full of interesting projects that you love doing and communicate that to the world and yourself. And then go out and merrily do it.”

For some reason, this quote really hit home for me. How many of us focus on how interesting each project we have is and how blessed we are to have it instead of adding it to what always seems like a never ending to do list?

I’ve learned that we all seem to have our own definition of busy. I have four children and a full-time job. People don’t usually deny that I’m busy and I’m probably going to say that I am too. But for me, I love everything I do. I love my job and the challenge that comes with each project. Yes, it adds to my busyness but I don’t know what I would do without it. Obviously, my kids and their activities keep me very busy but I enjoy seeing them learn new things and pursuing their passions.

No matter what your definition of busy is, what is key is the attitude you take towards it. We can choose whether we let the activities of our day fill us up or drain our energy at the end of the day. Ultimately, it determines how happy you are.

Here at MHCS, we are getting ready to head into what many in public accounting refer to as ‘busy season’. The description isn’t inaccurate. Everyone will be busy with tax returns and audits to meet deadlines and keep clients happy. It doesn’t come without challenge, much like many things in life. A few years ago, I was introduced into the concept of calling this time of year opportunity season. It’s a time of year where we get to meet with more of our clients and we are given an opportunity to use our skills to serve them. We are blessed for our clients to trust us with challenges that arise and the learning opportunities that can grow us all from those challenges. At MHCS, we have a lot of fun during busy season. We have an opportunity to bond with our coworkers and form a trust that is key to working together as a team. We love what we do and gain a happiness from the “opportunity busy” that comes with that time of year.

We all feel busy. It’s become so common for someone to respond to “How’s it going?” with “Busy”. The tone used in that response is what I’m urging you to think about. Do you let others know how appreciative you feel of the opportunity to be busy? Do you let the activities of your day leave you feeling fulfilled and energized? I hope the answer is yes and you take the glass half full approach to the opportunities in your life.

Jenny Smith, CPA, CFE | Director
JLSmith@MHCScpa.com