Understanding the Difference Between Busy-ness and Results

My wife started raising honey bees this year. I don’t know if the right term is “raised,” tended to, cared for, or watched after. I’m not sure. All I know is that when she gears up with her mask, gloves, and protective gear, I stay far away from them.

The other thing I know is that the same bee comes to my office window every day. How can I tell? Small scar above its left eye. Anyway, this bee comes to the same corner of my window at the same time every day, and buzzes around for about 15 minutes.

I have no idea what job the hive gave this bee to do or what it is looking for. Bees don’t exactly talk. For months, it has been expending valuable energy at my window, and then heads back to the hive empty-legged.

“It’s important to know the difference between busy-ness and results. Sometimes it takes just looking to your right or left to see a different solution for a problem you’ve been struggling with for some time.”

If this bee was smart, it’d just look to the left and see that our dogs come and go as they please through a small doggy-door, follow them in, and have the whole house to explore. It might find grains of sugar on the counter, or a flowering house plant. After all, bees do have flight plans. Instead, it does the same thing over and over, expecting different results.

It caused me to wonder. How often do I do the same thing? Am I repeating some fruitless behavior for days, weeks, and months at a time, while expecting a different outcome? Sure, I’m busy, but is my busy-ness generating results?

It’s important to know the difference between busy-ness and results. Sometimes it takes just looking to your right or left to see a different solution for a problem you’ve been struggling with for some time.

So, give it a shot. If you’re not getting the results you expect, try something different. Trust me, you’ll bee glad you did.