#34 - The Do Be Brothers

Off-point:?Attempting to determine which comes first—Do vs. Be.

On-point:?Flowing back and forth between them, ever more effortlessly.

One without the other is an expression of stuck.

Make no mistake. If we are stuck in doing, we will grow frustrated from doing the work others need to be doing, blind to ourselves as the source of our problem. If we are stuck in being mode, we freeze in place, unaware of all that deteriorates around us.

(more follows below)

Going Deeper: A 5-minute primer on two modes of mind: doing and being.

Of course, we start somewhere more naturally. But we should not stop in just doing or being and fail to continue growing. Most executives have well-developed doing modes after so many years of repeatedly accomplishing. To move into future value, succession, and legacy, they will need to frequently call on their being mode, only to find it is severely underdeveloped.

Our entire being is wired to grow! From the moment we raise our heads and our parents admire how strong we were, how determined we were to roll over, then learn to walk, and all the way to the later in life freedom we find in forgiveness and being forgiven, then ultimately resting in peace.?We have an innate ability to keep growing from the first day until our last breath.

We grow through the flow of doing and being. The less we resist this flow and the more we integrate the flow into our lives, the more quickly wisdom finds its way into our tool belt; the more capacity we have to perceive, and the more these capacities integrate within us so that it is more difficult to tell which is which. And the more others will turn to us for perspective as they grow their own capacities.

Relaxed as we Do.

Be as a verb. ??

In my Backpack: The Upside of Irrationality by Dan Ariely

Behavioral Economics is a favorite subject, and I've read more than a few books. More fascinating than his academic experiments on irrationality is Mr. Ariely's personal and real-world story of physical anguish and the power of mind and perspective to make and draw meaning—an illustration of the upside of human irrationality.

He repeatedly points out that humans are much more like the impulsive Homer Simpson than the supremely logical Mr. Spock. Master that essential sentence and you'll have mastered the book. ??

Executive Thinking is a?source for being and thinking as an executive who links the world's future to their enterprise mission and its profitable operations. Here, you will find some of the soul-searching, middle-of-the-night, honest reflections at the core of who we are becoming as leaders.

A Systems Convener and Executive Advisor walking alongside accomplished executives in the third turn of their careers, Mark L. Vincent, Ph.D., EPC, loves leaders who love leaders.

In his own third turn, Mark continues to grow his capacity for wise advising, artful facilitation, and public presentation.

Mark has founded?Maestro-level leaders,?Design Group International,?and the?Society for Process Consulting and authored a number of books, including Listening Helping Learning. He now partners with Mygrow to build an emotionally intelligent world.