Forget doing and being; you are Becoming!
You are a human becoming.
You’ve probably heard it said:
“stop being a human doing; be a human being!”
This is excellent advice, certainly. We benefit from getting past the destructive notion that we are defined by what we do. This notion is its own form of lash, one that our culture, our employers or business partners, our friends, our families, and even ourselves, can use to whip us into productivity. This lashing can erode our mental and physical health in serious ways.
So, yes! Enough of this chronic illness called addiction to doing.
Human being is certainly a significant step up from human doing.
Being, though, is not the end of the story. Being is static, unmoving. It means “existence”.
Do you want only to exist, or can you feel an impulse within you that is more dynamic than mere existence?
The truth about us humans is that we are always in process. No matter how hard you might try, you cannot awaken tomorrow as the same person you were this morning. This is true on every level of your being: physical, emotional, mental, relational, and spiritual.
So, then, that settles it. You don’t merely exist: you become.
But if that’s the case, that no matter what I do I’m becoming, then there’s nothing for me to do, right? This becoming thing is inevitable, right?
Just because you are a process no matter how you choose to live this day does not mean that this is a meaningless conversation. The key here is how you see yourself. If you wake up tomorrow morning with the notion that you are in this life to merely exist, you’ll likely make radically different decisions than if you fully own, down to your marrow, that you are a process.
People who know that they are becoming something new in each moment, and who take responsibility for that process, approach the day differently:
They are curious.
They are flexible and creative.
They make choices that support their growth.
Not surprisingly, this shows up with some pretty remarkable results. Research has shown that self-identification as a process rather than a fixed entity, combined with a sense of responsibility for that process, results in:
better health, physical and mental;
greater satisfaction with their relationships, jobs, and lives in general;
a greater likelihood of achieving their goals in all realms of their lives, whether individual, relational, or communal.
So, tomorrow morning when you awaken, ask yourself,
Who do I intend to become today?