Human Being vs. Human Doing

The first time I heard this saying it took me by surprise. I was attending an on-line coaching summit during COVID, and one of coaches in a break-out room asked the question “Who do you be?” I’d not heard this before and cocked my head to the side with curiosity. She started again, “We are human beings, not human doings, so who do you be?”

Now, I ask this same question to others and am typically met with the same bewildered look. If I ask you “What do you do?”, you’d know exactly how to reply. “Who do you be?”, well . . . . be prepared for a long pause.

The Difference Between Being and Doing

Human doings believe that they must ‘do’ things (really well) to be valued in our society (and value themselves). Human beings believe that their self-worth is defined by their values, attitudes, and beliefs.

- Jim Taylor, Ph.D.

If doing things well equates to a human doing versus a human being, then how do you escape a culture where quantitative numbers, number of followers on social media, and constant driving of action are expected, AND are outlined as the key indicators of success? This is a quandary, especially for high performers, who see their days as key opportunities to seize, learn, grow, and produce the best service / product that they can deliver. In essence, high performers do, well, a lot.

Is it possible then, to be a high performer who is a human being and not a human doing? The answer is YES, yet this requires a shift within the individual, to do life in a different way, a way that is more in alignment with spirit than mind.

If we allow our lives to come from a place of being, we open ourselves up to infinite intelligence as well.

- Michelle Zarrin, Huffington Post Blog Contributor

Thinking on this level is a shift for most because we are not taught to listen to our hearts and bodies in business, we are taught to produce, lead, accomplish, and listen to our boss (unless, of course, you are the boss, and in which case, you’re probably still not listening to your heart or body).

Shifting into a place of being means you accept your humanity, redefine your success, create more balance, reduce your to-do’s list, become more flexible, lighten up, and give self-love. These are the areas which Taylor highlighted as being essential to moving into being, while also noting that if you can achieve this in your life, you will experience higher levels of meaning, satisfaction, and joy in your achievements.

How Does this Apply to Me?

Let me check in. Are you wondering how you can apply this to your life? Do you even want to talk to your employees or clients about making heart-based decisions v. mind-based decisions? Probably not. They might get that bewildered look in their eyes, cock their head to the side, and say “Huh?” It is possible, however, to succeed AND tap into your being as the leading force behind whatever you bring into this world.

Adam Hergenrother, owner of Adam Hergenrother Companies, a $1 billion dollar organization where personal growth comes first, notes that leading with this premise has opened up opportunities in ways he could not imagine.

I discovered I could use my business as a way to go deeper to uncover my human being side. By doing so, I changed how I operated and started gaining success in different ways.

- Adam Hergenrother, Owner, Adam Hergenrother Companies

Hergenrother also noted that when you learn to create from presence, that becomes a game changer for your business.

When you come from being first, your business, your work life, is just an expression of who you are . . . .and bam!

Who do you BE?

So, I’ll ask you now, who do you be? What is so deeply ingrained in you that is has always been there and you’re not utilizing because it’s too (fill in the blank)? These are the parts of ourselves we keep hidden, as if we’re going to be “found out” somehow, that we’re not who we say we are.

Yet if you don’t truly know who you be, then how can you be? Are you even you? Tapping into our personal gifts, the ones that we were born with, are the most incredible tools for us to use as we define and create and redefine our lives and businesses. You are the only you, so I’ll ask again, Who do you be and how would knowing this elevate your business to an unimaginable level?