Looking up and looking to the future protects us from threats and dangers. However, keeping our gaze fixed on the horizon still prevents us from enjoying the journey we have taken.
Last update: 12 March, 2020
"We spend more time doing rather than being" means that sometimes we live so much as planned that we forget we are, to feel, to live the present moment. We spend our lives carrying out tasks for the sole purpose of completing them, as if our well-being depended on it.
In a way we tend to live immersed in a program: going to work, cooking, having a coffee with friends, going to the gym, doing laundry, showering, going to the hairdresser… and millions of other tasks. The degree of planning is such that even before finishing one task we are already thinking about the next one, without enjoying the here and now, the present.
When we invest more time doing, we forget we are
Sometimes we forget to be, to stop and think about who we are and what we need. Therefore, we tend to focus most of our energies on unnecessary tasks and activities, to organize our time and our agenda.
And it is so true that we forget to live in the present, the moment in which we find ourselves. We focus on the future, neglecting the importance of living in the present.
In some moments we forget to laugh, to thank, to appreciate the nature that surrounds us, to hug, to kiss, to show our affection, to breathe pure air, to walk barefoot, to taste the aroma of a good coffee ...
Sometimes we don't appreciate the little details of everyday life, and we are too engrossed in completing our to-do list.
We spend more time on duties, but time is never enough
Without realizing it, we risk turning into mechanical people, dissatisfied, frustrated, afflicted by a constant feeling of dissatisfaction. So when we spend more time doing than living, our list of things to finish can be endless.
Do we really think it is possible to complete all the tasks we have set ourselves? We probably always have something to do. Focusing our attention on what remains to be done can cause us a deep feeling of frustration, because we fail to achieve our goals.
We don't spend enough time on ourselves
We also feel a high degree of dissatisfaction, since "I can never do everything I want and, consequently, I am not satisfied". In these cases the concept of self and self-esteem depend on the successes obtained and not only on ourselves.
I used to look forward to finishing high school to start college. And then I would have done anything to get out of college and start working. So, the time came when I was looking forward to getting married and having children. And then the time came when I couldn't wait for the kids to grow up and go to school. Then, again, I would have given who knows what to retire. And now, instead, I am dying… And suddenly I realize that I have forgotten to live ”.
-Anonymous-
Do we really prioritize what matters?
Ursula Calvo, an expert in personal development, argues that time management should depend on priorities and that it is important to be honest. For to be honest, you have to choose your priorities: “Decide how much space to dedicate to your free time, keep it as if it were an indissoluble commitment”.
We tend to struggle to follow a priority list. We dedicate a large part of our energies to daily activities (eating, working, cooking, taking care of others ..), but we don't dedicate time to ourselves, to stop and think.
In our daily priority list we usually don't find room to listen to ourselves and ask ourselves what we want, what we need, who we are. In short, we spend more time doing than enjoying life, skipping to the bottom of our priority list.
Calvo argues that we should follow a list of priorities based on our needs, what we need, outlining its contents as an inevitable commitment. If we gave ourselves the time we need and didn't live in a continuous schedule, we might feel more satisfied with our life.
Time is both the most valid and the most unstable of our resources.
-John Randolph-
