BUSYNESS AND OVERDRIVE
It seems that we are all increasingly caught up in the relentless acceleration that we feel everywhere around us. Organisations are no exception: we keep pushing ahead, chasing deadlines, with work that never seems to end.
It is hardly surprising that the pace is accelerating. AI is evolving at an ever-increasing rate. Geopolitical shifts follow one another at breakneck speed. The news has become almost impossible to keep up with. And through social media, we are swept along by the sheer volume and speed of the information flow.
This is not good for our brains, nor for our well-being. The consequences are impossible to ignore: an epidemic of burnout and a growing number of people struggling with mental health issues. Many can no longer keep up with the rat race.
What concerns me is that this relentless pace is also detrimental to organisations.
BUSY, BUSY, BUSY
Everyone is busy. Competition is fierce. Customers are impatient and demanding. Results must be delivered. Your boss is breathing down your neck. But what is the price we pay for constantly pushing ourselves to the limit?
A healthy rhythm of life requires a balance between action and reflection, work and rest. Constantly performing and ticking items off our to-do lists without taking a break creates unhealthy stress. The disturbing thing is that we have come to normalise this stress. By now, we are well aware that stress is harmful to our bodies.
Even more worrying is the fact that we often cannot feel the underlying chronic stress that is always there. We may only become aware of it when we sit still, lie on our yoga mat or meditate. The paradox is that trying to calm down confronts us with our inner restlessness. Relaxation itself becomes stressful! (I know all about that!)
PRESSING THE PAUSE BUTTON
Of course, this is not simply a matter of individual responsibility. The well-being of organisations that keep pushing relentlessly ahead is also at stake. Creating a healthy balance between doing and thinking, attention for the task and relationships, and short-term and long-term priorities requires a helicopter view and a clear strategic vision.
In my view, being constantly available, operating in permanent overdrive and glorifying the heroic manager who works 70 hours a week is a recipe for failure.
It is both healthy and effective for teams to take time regularly to reflect on how they work together, and to reconnect with one another.
It is essential to create space for creativity and innovation to emerge — for what is often referred to as emergence — so that organisations can respond flexibly to a changing reality.
"Slow down so that you can speed up again." This is something I have been advocating for years.
KEEPING BUSY TO AVOID FEELING?
There is a particular dynamic that fascinates me: escaping into work to avoid having to deal with relationships, simmering tensions and difficult issues that we really ought to be addressing.
Being constantly busy as a defence mechanism, in other words, to avoid facing what is happening and acknowledging what is going on between people and below the surface. I hear it regularly: "Discuss our conflicts? We don't have time for that!"
Tensions and frustrations are swept under the carpet and disappear into the organisational undercurrent — until the pressure finally erupts.
Speed and stress keep us trapped in our heads, leaving us disconnected from our feelings. And perhaps this is precisely what we are trying to escape: admitting how exhausted we are, allowing ourselves to feel our frustrations, or daring to acknowledge our anger or despair.
Stress also makes it harder for us to remain open to others and respond with empathy. Our ability to think creatively and find solutions is compromised as well.
SLOW DOWN, FEEL, CONNECT
A heartfelt plea, then, to dare to slow down and feel, so that we can reconnect with ourselves and with one another.
An investment in individual and collective resilience.
Something we urgently need in the times we are living through...
I will explore all of this in more depth in the masterclass I am offering in English on Thursday May 13 2027:
'REPAIR, HEALING & RESILIENCE'
You are warmly invited if you are curious and looking for an alternative!
Below, I would like to share a powerful statement by a young Palestinian woman that deeply moved me — and that is anything but a kumbaya sentiment...
Festival of Multiple Voices (Festival van de Meerstemmigheid), Hummus, 11 September 2026
"We must have the strength and courage to keep feeling."
Copyright © Silvia Prins (2026). All rights reserved.
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