“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a common question that we ask children. I understand the sentiment, but I think it’s a horrible question because it takes them away from who they are right now and suggests that they are not enough as they are.
In the next five years, we have no idea what the top jobs will be or what the world will be like. It’s essential to have a vision for your future and life, but being present is just as important.
Many people DO things, such as a job, to HAVE things, so that one day they can BE (i.e. retire). In retirement, they can finally just BE.
Take my father, for example. He was an incredibly hard worker. He would work 12-14 hours a day to provide for our family. He was 65 when he retired, and I’ll never forget sitting with him the day he retired on the back patio, and he listed off all of these things he wanted to do. It was finally his turn to BE. But as I listened, I realized that he had spent so much time doing and having that he had to relearn how to just BE. He had followed the model Do, Have, Be which puts off being into the future. He was in the habit of doing and having -- what if we flipped the model and learned to Be, Do, Have.
I believe that if you learn first what it is for you to Be, then Do, then Have, you’ll get more satisfaction out of life and have abundance. You’ll have a career, not a job, and you’ll make life choices that contribute to how you want to show up and add value to the world.
A better question for yourself and others might be: How do you want to be or show up in the world?This shift in perspective will encourage someone to Be, Do, Have.
This post is based on a podcast episode by Greg Bell.
Listen below for the full episode: