The Stories we Tell

I was in Target a few weeks ago and I heard the woman next to me--who had two kids in her cart--answer her cell phone. This is an actual transcript:

Oh I completely meant to call you. I'm so sorry I didn't get back. 
I've been so busy. 
If it makes you feel any better, I literally have 600 unread e-mails in my inbox. 
I just haven't been able to get back before now. 

We've heard this conversation before.  Heck, we've even said this conversation before.  There is another version of it that I frequently hear at business dinners.

I flew 274 days last year. 
Yes, I have lifetime platinum status.
I'm never quite sure which time zone I'm in. 

It occurs to me that the danger in these common stories is that it makes busy-ness a badge of honor.  As if our worth is captured by the amount of e-mails we receive or the amount of miles we travel. The truth is that we only tell these stories as a way to define ourselves. It is rarely relevant to the person we tell it to.

So why don't we just stop.

And change the dialogue.