How To Be or Not To Be

That is the question – isn’t it? Too often we don’t bring our attention to the perspectives and attitudes we bring to our interactions.

I once heard the idea that focusing on To Be lists is just as important as To Do lists. I think this is phenomenally important.

Many of us are great at putting together To Do lists for ourselves. Sometimes we’re overly ambitious and create more than we can possibly accomplish in a day. On the other hand, we don’t tend to focus on how we want To Be as much.

Try starting your To Do’s with an intention of how you want to be in the world. Ask yourself, “What do I want to express?” Some possibilities are:

• Patience for what or whom I meet today,
• Joy and light-heartedness toward the world,
• Gratitude for what I have and what I see,
• Love and caring for everyone I meet.

Actually taking a moment to set something like this as an intention can change the climate of your day! It can change how you view what happens and how you respond.

Too often we drift through our days, responding to what occurs and to others’ energy without setting our sails for how we want to be. Eventually, we lose our energy and direction.

To Do lists are also important but they are guided by our To Be mentalities. Whether you are consciously choosing how you want to be or reacting to your environment makes a difference in your sense of well-being. Imagine the difference between starting your day with a desire to be patient, and then meeting someone who is having a bad day and reacts angrily to you. Without that initial attitude, I know I would be more likely to give into that energy and fight back! 

We have a greater ability to pause and decide our responses if we’ve started our days with positive goals.

Try it – I think you’ll like it!