For a couple of weeks, I’ve been all jacked up (gory description coming below). You see, I’m a great doer. I get things done like nobody’s business. And if I’m not paying attention, my sense of being goes out the window.
Being? What’s that?
Being is keeping a focus on who you are in the world. It’s how you show up. How you are being. Being and doing: you need to choose both to be successful, balanced, and happy. (That’s the punch line so you can stop reading right here. Except there's more.)
Allow me to engage two extremes to make the point.
Some of my friends and clients default to the being side of things. They are deeply tuned in. And sometimes, they get lost in the airy, fairy beauty of the world or of their emotional experience. When they are lost in the being, it’s hard to get things done, to focus, and to keep commitments to themselves and others.
Then there are those of us (me!) who default to doing. Pedal to the metal, get things done, check things off the to-do list because, by god, my self-worth is tied to being productive. If we don’t stay organized, it makes all kinds of statements about who we are as people.
I wouldn’t be a coach if I didn’t have strategies for how to balance these two energies because remember the punch line? We need both! And man, I need both like a fish needs water.
1. Recognize which side is your default. Are you more of a constant doer or a committed be-be? (See the descriptions above if you need hints).
2. Learn the signs that you are out of balance. Gory description: when I’m out of balance, my energy hovers in my chest, I get jumpy and constricted, I talk fast, and my family finds me not delightful.
3. Forgive yourself. (meaning, don’t add beating yourself up to a lack of balance) and gently invite yourself back on the balance horse.
4. Staying in balance requires conscious choice and discipline. Have a couple of simple practices that bring you back into balance.
For you be-bes: Do the one thing you’ve been avoiding or use your deep tuned-in place as a spring board for action grounded from your best tunest-iniest place.
For you do-ers: Go outside and sink your toes in the grass, restart (or start) your meditation practice, drive slowly, move consciously, and be intentional about connecting to your heart and soul.
Doing enables you to get stuff done, to bring your gifts to your world. Being enables you to be grounded, to have your actions mean something to you and to others.
You need both. And if you’re like most people, it takes intention to maintain balance.
Got it? I'm glad!
Christina
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P.P.S. If you need a balance practice, I highly recommend Deepak Chopra and Oprah Winfrey’s meditation series. They have a new one starting on November 2. It’s free. It’s easy. It’s a daily dose of balance on a stick. Click here to check it out.