dan ho

Be A Human Being – Not A Human DoingHave you ever admired a successful person? What was it that you admired? Was it their fame? Their lifestyle? Their accomplishments?

Society teaches us that to be successful, we must achieve-we, must “do” something to earn it. We are taught to work hard to be “successful”. And to show our success we buy things – material “things” that prove our success “status”. When we focus on earning success we become “Human Doings”.

Human Doings overload themselves with long lists of goals, objectives and “to do” lists. They become emotionally drained as they spread themselves too thin. Worse yet, they are unavailable to respond to the emotional needs of those around them because they have so little left to give. Just as a hand becomes calloused to toughen sensitive skin, so does a human doing become insensitive to “feeling” the emotions of those around him.

“Human Beings” consciously chooses to slow down, prioritize and maintain balance. They understand the risk of getting too over responsible to their success at the cost of becoming insensitive, distant and emotionally unavailable. They make a decision to stay in touch with those they love by setting up boundaries that prevent them from becoming a slave to their goals.
Strive2Thrive

Thanks to Kevin Charland for this link. I love the quote here and it makes a lot of sense. I guess in this society, there is much pressure on defining people by what they achieve, and not really what they are. It’s a philosophical debate that can go both ways, but I like how they define Being vs Doing here.