To Be... and Not To Do
Your To Do list is keeping you stuck. Try this instead.
Do you have a never-ending To Do list?
Have you ever written “make a To Do list” on your To Do list?
Do you ever put tasks onto your To Do list that you’ve already completed, just to have the satisfaction of crossing it off?
We’ve all been there. And for us perfectionists and over-achievers, it can be a dopamine-laden trap: the euphoria of crossing off a task, the organizational bliss of adding items, yet the anxiety and overwhelm of the ever-growing list that there’s never enough time to do.
Can you feel it?
We’ve become addicted to the lists and lists of lists — and deluded that if we have a list, we can get it done. True, it helps us organize our thoughts and break down larger tasks into bite-sized pieces, but how many of those bite-sized pieces never actually get done? Or stick around on your list for days, weeks, years?
The truth is: your To Do list is keeping you stuck.
It’s a glorified way to keep you busy when life comes knocking. Catch up with an old friend? “I have way too much to do.” Your mom calls? “I’m so busy I can’t talk right now.” Going through a breakup? “Thank goodness I have something to keep me busy.”
Busyness is our trap. And it’s a distraction from what’s really important: YOU.
And when your To Do list is intertwined with achievement, forget about it! Maybe we’ll see you in ten years when you look up and realize a decade of life has passed you by and you have a quarter- or mid-life crisis.
But let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water. Lists are helpful tools! We just need to re-learn how to use them effectively.
So I’d like to invite you to try out a new kind of list. It has ONE item on it, and you make this list every week.
It’s a To Be list.
Every week on Sunday evening or Monday morning, you get to decide, Who do you want to be this week?
And this isn’t a costume party where you’re choosing another mask to wear.
No, this is a Soul Expanding party where you’re identifying ONE part of your Being to call forth, evolve, and lean on for the week.
Maybe this week you are the truth-teller. Or the visionary. Or the student. Perhaps the healer, the nurturer, the receiver.
Put this list ABOVE your To Do list, so that every time you look at your To Do list, you’re also calling on the energy of who you are BEING this week. Work with this archetype for the week and see how it serves you to break out of your regularly scheduled programming and creates more spaciousness around all the things you’re doing.
You’ll end up with more time, more space, and more connection to your Whole Self. Not just the self who loves her lists.
So let us know in the comments: Who are you Being this week?