#14: being vs. doing
What’s on my mind
Doing and being are not the same.
Doing is about the actions you take and the decisions you make: your behaviour.
It focuses on the past, future, and the present moment.
Being, on the other hand, is the foundation of all you’re doing: your personality, habits, mental models, and life perspectives.
It’s about this moment, right now.
Life has nothing to do with what you’re doing and everything to do with what you’re being.
The magic happens when you get to the root of what you really want to be.
And stop ignoring this inner voice that secretly knows what truly excites you.
While fully appreciating that, this moment is all we have.
…
What do you choose to be?
Live the reality you wish to experience. Right this moment.
This week’s stories
💯 Good enough is just fine
When you finish something, are you usually satisfied with the end result?
Or do you have a sense of agitation that you could do more?
The road to perfect never ends.
Consistent is better than perfect.
Done is better than perfect.
Good enough is just fine.
And this mindset makes it possible to start something else that will move you in the right creative direction.
What we lack in perfection can be made up for with consistency.
{4-min read}
❓ Asking questions
Children are better at asking question than adults.
I also think they’re better at listening.
At being fully present.
And rarely do you hear children using umms and uhhs as they speak.
But that’s a separate topic.
Back to questions.
As we grow up, we care less and less about the purpose behind the questions we’re asking. And more about sounding smart.
And over time we avoid asking simple questions that get to the point of what we don’t understand.
Conversations in which I ask simpler questions are more enjoyable and more interesting. These conversations lead to new ideas and better plans.
{2-min read}
📝 Keeping a cheatsheet for feel-better activities
When your routine gets disrupted by things outside of your control, focus on maintaining or improving the inputs that you have more control over.
Things that have made you feel better before.
Even better, find a way to constantly remind yourself of these feel-good activities:
Inside the door of my breakfast cupboard I taped a list of activities that reliably make me feel better: journaling, meditation, cleaning something that’s been dirty for a long time, reaching out to a friend, reading a real book, and half a dozen others.
{3-min read}
👓 A user guide to working with you
Everyone has their own preferences of how they like to operate and be treated by others.
This applies to both work and life situations.
And even experienced managers can sometimes get it wrong in the way they show care and affection for their team.
We each simply have different perspectives and life experiences.
That’s when a user manual can come in handy to help others understand what helps make you the best version of yourself.
Check out the template, and let me know if you start working on yours. Mine is under construction. We can exchange notes!
{10-min read}
⏰ One task at a time
Four ways to reduce distractions and drop multi-tasking altogether:
Minimize context switching. Batch as many similar tasks together as possible.
Treat your focus time as sacred. Because it truly is!
Write it down. Your brain is a powerful organ, but pen and paper (or your task manager) are much better at remembering. Jot down anything that comes to mind when you’re single tasking. Then continue with the task.
Do what works for you. Build a system that matches your personality and strengths.
{6-min read}
Final Thought
This song randomly popped up as I was about to hit send on this week’s issue, and struck a chord with me.
Hope you like it too!
Until next week,
Reza 🍋