I was speaking to a group last week and after the program we got into a discussion about “having vs. being”. Conventional wisdom says that to be something you must have something but I see people with money who are not happy and people with jobs that are unsatisfied. So how does “having and being” connect? It’s doing something with what you have that really allows us to be. If we are trying to be warm we might collect firewood but if we don’t cut it into right size pieces and then light it, we will never enjoy the warmth. Having the wood doesn’t make us warm, having a relationship doesn’t make us happy and having money doesn’t make us rich. It is what we DO, it is the action we take with what we have that creates the value. To paraphrase Dr Leo Buscaglia, to have and not to do, is not to have. Today’s thoughts are all about what we are doing.Since I mentioned Dr Leo (one of my greatest mentors) let me adapt one of his questionnaires for this week’s Positive Thought
Ask yourself these questions and answer them honestly. This is a good path to self-knowledge. In the morning use the word “Will” and at the end of the day use the word “Did”.
Will / Did I make anyone a little happier because I came along today?
Yes / No
Will / Did I leave any concrete evidence of my kindness, any sign of my love? Yes / No
Will / Did I try to think of someone I know in a more positive light? Yes / No
Will / Did I help someone to feel joy, laugh, or at least, to smile? Yes / No
Will /Did I attempt to remove a little of the rust that is corroding my relationships? Yes / No
Will / Did I enjoy the day by celebrating what I have rather than what I don’t? Yes / No
Will / Did I forgive others for being less than perfect? Yes / No
Will / Did I forgive myself? Yes / No
Will / Did I learn something new today about life, living or love? Yes / No
Will / Did I leave any concrete evidence of my kindness, any sign of my love? Yes / No
Will / Did I try to think of someone I know in a more positive light? Yes / No
Will / Did I help someone to feel joy, laugh, or at least, to smile? Yes / No
Will /Did I attempt to remove a little of the rust that is corroding my relationships? Yes / No
Will / Did I enjoy the day by celebrating what I have rather than what I don’t? Yes / No
Will / Did I forgive others for being less than perfect? Yes / No
Will / Did I forgive myself? Yes / No
Will / Did I learn something new today about life, living or love? Yes / No
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Amazing post! I used it as a self-assessment tool and posted the answers on my blog.
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John! Thanks for the post. I never knew about the difference between them... Sample Questionnaire
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