'To Do' or 'To Be'… That’s the Question!

By Esther Cohen

I have a confession to make. I am a BIG lists person!  My days are filled with endless tasks, most of which I love and some which are simply a drag!

As time goes by, life seems to get busier and busier for most of us. Each stage brings extra responsibilities and “must do’s” to the extent that we might feel we’ve become like puppets manipulated by our own successes, dreams, and ideals, with little choice but to continuously ‘do’ and ‘deliver’.

Where action is key to achievement,  it needs to be tempered with the space to simply BE.

It is easy to lose ourselves in the forever growing tasks list to the extent that we feel too guilty to set time aside and enjoy the simple pleasures of life until the ‘To Do’ list is all ticked off.

Recently, I started to incorporate a second list into my daily To-Do’s; a To-Be list. Each morning, as I work out the plan ahead, I add items such as Be calm, Be mindful, Be gentle with yourself to my daily tasks. Simply reading those remind me to allow myself time to be, bringing meaning and balance to the day.

What things would you write in your ‘To-Be’ list?

How different will your day feel if your list allows you to have personal space, with tasks such as being present, being joyous or being positive?

Simply allowing yourself to Be is the fuel that feeds what to do!

So go ahead, start your ‘To Be’ list straight away.  Remember that you are a Human Being after all!!