Back on the treadmill of doing, I had lost touch with my being. The urge to do more is very natural. Especially when things are going well. One more meeting. One more proposal. One more… how many can I fit into a day? The more I do the more successful I am.
More. More. More. The world seems to clamour. Do more. A bias for action is what it takes to succeed. For many years, I pushed myself to do more believing that this is the mantra for success. Somewhere along this journey, I discovered the power of stillness. The being Vs the doing and their separation as well as their connectedness. How one feeds the other.
Having discovered it was not enough though. Holding on to that insight is not easy. I got swept away into the world of action as the world opened up again. Till a few weeks ago I got my second round of Covid. I was forced to slow down. In that pause, I caught a glimpse of the power of stillness again as it came back to me uninvited. It touched me and I got in touch with my core self again.
I was listening to a short guided meditation on insight timer called ‘Learning to honour our rhythms and cycles’ by Sarah Blondin and her words were magical. She shared a quote “If we cease to act, life itself will not cease… it may, in fact, grow full” bringing home the importance of stillness to help guide my life. It is in the moments where I pause and listen to my soul that I find the answers that guide my doing. My being knows what I should be doing. When I don’t tune into this inner self and listen, I end up doing the bidding of others. And in this neither they nor I find satisfaction.
Finding a way to stay tuned into the seasons or the cycle of life is important. There is sunlight and then there is darkness. There is the bloom of a flower and then the rest before the garden comes to life again. This cycle needs to be nurtured and respected. It is the nature of things to go through periods of inner growth before the gifts can be presented to the outer world.
The next time I feel the need to go inward and find some “me time” this is me reminding myself it is the best gift I can give myself. Growth comes from honouring this cycle not from trying to cycle non-stop. Doing, doing, doing, and then doing some more needs to be replaced with being, doing, being, and then doing again. Do yourself a favour and let the ‘human being’ in you guide all your ‘human doing’. The world will be a better place and you will find yourself to be doing better too.
Some questions I have found that help me to sharpen my focus, when I pause.
What needs to end for a new beginning?
Is it there a project that I am driving that has outlived its usefulness?
Or maybe a series of meetings that have outlived their purpose?
Maybe some self-talk has been limiting me from trying out new things?
Exploring these kinds of questions in a moment of stillness is magical.
Asking and answering these kinds of questions allows for a reimagined future to emerge. A future where I am just being my awesome self, just doing my best work. This is growth. This is success.
Just being…
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
A trusted coaching and communications professional, Nikhil Dey is a certified life and leadership coach (International Coach Federation - ICF). Nurturing talent and helping clients achieve their goals is what makes him happy. He loves learning from students of communication, teaching courses and guest lecturing at various educational institutions. When he is not working you will find him on the tennis court or out for long walks with his family and four legged friends.
Previously he has held senior leadership positions at Weber Shandwick and Genesis BCW.
He can be reached on twitter @deydreaming
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