Why Busy Is Another Word for Arsehole

Is the glorification of “busy” killing your close relationships?
RELATED: Communication Skills For Healthy Relationships
Are you always too busy to meet up with your dearest friends? Or, is your partner always using the “busy” card as his excuse for not calling you when he said he would?
The word “busy” carries much weight; it’s such a small word, but it can cause untold damage to our dealings with loved ones.
We’re all busy in this day and age; it’s all about priorities. If you really love and value someone, you’ll always find a way to make time for them.
American comedian/author and former Sex and the City writer/consultant Greg Behrendt (pictured) said it best in his hit self-improvement book, He’s Just Not That Into You, which he co-wrote with Liz Tuccillo; an awesome read, I highly recommend:
“Busy is another word for ‘arsehole’. ‘Arsehole’ is another word for the guy you’re dating. You deserve a fucking phone call.”
This advice can be applied to all intimate relationships, I believe – don’t be the person who’s too busy to show they care, or put up with people who treat you the same way.
And my other fave bit of sage advice from Behrendt’s and Tuccillo’s 2004 No.1 New York Times best-seller, which was later adapted into a 2009 film by the same name, is:
“I’m about to make a wild, extreme and severe relationship rule: the word busy is a load of crap and is most often used by arseholes. The word ‘busy’ is the relationship Weapon of Mass Destruction. It seems like a good excuse, but in fact in every silo you uncover, all you’re going to find is a man who didn’t care enough to call. Remember men are never too busy to get what they want.”
So true! No one is ever too busy to show they care.
And in the era of the selfie, have we lost sight of what really matters?
The next time you use the “busy” card as an excuse for not calling and/or catching up with someone – and we’re all guilty of it – but you still find the time to post a pic on Instagram, or send a tweet to strangers, is it high time you actually picked up the phone to a loved one to show you care?
Perhaps it’s imperative we all started spending more quality time reconnecting with the actual people we know and love. Just saying…
What do you think? Is “busy” just an excuse for poor communication skills?
Images via agbeat.com; hairbrained.me; timemanagementninja.com; and huffingtonpost.com.
Nicole is a Queensland-based writer and bona fide word nerd whose first love (apart from heels) is feature writing. Follow Nicole on Twitter.