I’m a recovering do-er. I was raised in a family/culture/society that said reward = effort. “No pain, no gain.” I still suffer from this mindset.
The problem with this mindset is that it assumes one type of “doing” and ignores the rest.
What Is Doing?
What we call doing is probably the least productive type of doing. A sniper with one bullet can do what a machine gunner does with a thousand. When you are connected to your inner being (let’s call it a flow state) you have no resistance left in you and you are feeling connected, happy, excited, passionate, alive.
Once all these four dimensions of you – your physical body, your mind, your emotion, and the fundamental life energies – are organized in one direction, anything you want happens without you lifting your little finger. — Sadhguru
People (me included) expend so much energy in resistance. They are paddling up stream. But I am “doing” they say! Not like those folks floating down river, they’re lazy, they’ll never get what they want.
But there is a different type of doing. It is the act of being in flow. Action (or even thought) done in flow is magnitudes more powerful than any disconnected action.
I think the best definition of these two states of doing is that “Flow” requires connecting to your inner being and then acting from a place of feeling good, while “Resistant Doing” usually starts from a place of not feeling good and assumes that you need to “get” whatever you’re “chasing” in order to feel good. See the difference?
Do you know how much energy you have when you practice this “flow doing?”
Flow “Doing:”
- Returns energy to you when you’re “doing.” You can just keep doing and doing and doing.
- Have clarity and absolute focus on what you should be doing NOW
- Feel like you get downloads with sparks of new ideas
- Feel excited but not worried about the outcome.
Resistant “Doing:”
- Takes a lot of energy and leaves you feeling spent.
- Makes you feel resentful
- Feels like a sacrifice
- Is a consistent struggle that burns you out
You are still doing and you can tell that to your mom/boss/spouse/friend. Except now, your “doing” is focused more inwards than outwards. You’re cultivating your mind and inner world because you understand that when you are good inside, good manifests outwards. And besides! you feel amazing anyways, isn’t that enough of a reason?
So do. Put your energy into coasting down the river, not paddling up it. We aren’t supposed to suffer. Suffering does not get us more of what we want. You become great when you stop chasing in life and start using life to set yourself free.
So for now, I’m still recovering. But I am constantly being reaffirmed that this type of “doing” is far more powerful than anything I’ve done in the past. I’m still fighting that voice of fear that says that I’ll never be anyone. That I am lazy and worthless and can’t do. That I need to stress and grind and fight to get what I want. But, I have finally recognized that that voice isn’t serving me (it’s like an abusive partner). I’d rather leap into the unknown.