When are you a human being, rather than a human doing?
Many high performers focus on doing, on earning their place by constantly executing and exceeding expectations. They are future focused, figuring out what they need to do to get to the next level. They rarely take the time to be in the present moment, for fear that slowing down will lead to complacency and falling behind.
But the cost to that future focus is a constant state of anxiety, feeling one is not where one “needs” to be, of constantly feeling the weight of what one “should” or “must” do. Those stressful feelings take a toll on one’s body, and can lead to health complications and even burnout.
What does it mean to act from the present moment instead, to _be_ instead of to _do_?
Being doesn’t necessarily mean blissfully doing nothing. You can still take action from a state of presence; the difference is that such action comes from a place of calm intention. You do it because you choose to do it, not because you “have to” do it. As the Zen koan goes, “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” Same actions from a different state of being.
My former self would have dismissed such an attitude as impossibly naive – there’s work that has to be done, and I just had to suck it up and do it. And yet I find I’m just as productive now, because I’m not wasting half my energy on worry and anxiety, and instead just do what I’m called to do in a state of flow which is both satisfying and productive. And because that flow state is energizing, I’m more easily able to summon the willpower to motivate myself when I do have to do annoying work.
What is your experience like? How could you experiment with spending more of your time “being” in the flow rather than stressfully “doing”?
#mindset #coaching #youhaveachoice