We all have choices in life. We can choose differently or we can accept what is right in front of us and remain as is. We can be so scared that it paralyzes us and we simply accept living in the institution and get busy dying. On the other hand, we can get busy living by taking inventory of our life, our work or business, our relationships and make the necessary changes to breathe greater meaning into our lives; making it what it was meant to be. From Andy's point of view, he means that he's choosing to get busy living by breaking out and not living the "non" life he has in prison. It is very similar to the phrase "Doing something is almost always better than doing nothing".
If you are not fully engaged in living a meaningful life, then you will slowly wither away. The prisoners or characters in the movie had a choice to make. Either they wallow in the defeat and gloom of prison, or they rise above your circumstance. There is nothing in between these two options.

This film displays themes clearly. Andy is getting busy living by trying to feel normal. He is living his life as close to normal while being locked up. He knows if he is not trying to be normal or trying his best to make his life normal that he is ultimately killing himself. He refuses to give in to the pressure that the prison has on most inmates to try and change who they are. He is a smart man, so it makes perfect sense that he would be the one to think this way. Andy very vividly represents the ego. He does this by being aware of who is his and what he is for. He knows his strengths and uses them to manipulate the warden into a heap of trouble. He displays his authentic self throughout the film. An instance of this is shown in the scene where Andy tells Captain Hadley he can help him be able to have all the money he inherited from his brother. He asks that the Captain in return gave three beers for his friends working on the roof. Red then states that he thinks Andy did this just to be normal again. Even when he went to a grey place like Shawshank, he remained true himself.

The other character in the film that is getting busy dying is Brooks Hatlen. He is the librarian at Shawshank. He has been in the joint for fifty years. There is a scene in the film where Floyd tells Andy and Red that Brooks is holding a knife to Heywood's throat. Andy manages to calm him down, but he is distraught. They later learn that Brooks has been paroled, and that killing Heywood would have been his way to stay in prison. The gang discusses Brooks, and Red says that Brooks has been in prison so long that he is institutionalized. He does not know how to carry himself outside of prison. Brooks represents the superego. Brooks had no ego left; he had nothing to live for. He has lost all sense of self. His sense of self has been replaced with who the prison says he is. His life outside the prison was nonexistent. This is what made Brooks ultimately choose to take his own life.

In a nut shell this film has the ability to make a person realize that they might need to start making something of their life. That is the reason that this film is so well known and has won awards. To put together a film that demonstrates the sense of getting busy living or getting busy dying, id, superego, and ego is an unparalleled feat in many people’s minds.