Nov 28, 2021
Becoming Is Greater Than Doing: Why That Might Not Be Entirely True
What should you prioritize Becoming or Doing?
So, I am on Twitter today, and I’m yet even to reach the average scrolling time when I stumble on a quote that reads.
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” — Rumi
I pause for a bit. Then, screenshot it and continue scrolling.
Well, I’ve had time to muse on it, and you’d be reading my thoughts next.
Most, if not all of us, want to change the world, or at least change more than just our locality. We want to make a big-shot impact on the sands of time.
So, we automatically assume that the way to make a big-shot impact is by doing big-shot things.
I mean, it makes sense. Doesn’t it?
But then I’ve heard people say this, and I believe I’ve said it myself too:
Becoming is greater than doing.
I believe that this is true. If you want to make a big-shot impact, focus on becoming a big shot.
But then you might ask, “How do I become a big shot?”
And, another school of thought might answer:
If you want to become a big shot, do big shot things.
Now there’s a conflict — at least it looks like there is.
Some say “Becoming is greater than doing”. Others say “You have to do to become”. Your brain tells you “What you do would invariably determine who you become”.
Hal Elrod sums it up beautifully in this quote
“Who you’re becoming is far more important than what you’re doing, and yet it is what you’re doing that is determining who you’re becoming.”
So, what should we focus on?
Becoming or Doing?
Here is what I think:
Becoming and doing are inseparable. There is a doing in becoming and a becoming in doing.
They are like the two sides of a coin. The two sides are equally important and inseparable.
In the same light, becoming and doing are inseparable.
Although becoming and doing are like two sides of a coin, it is very important what side of the coin you are concerned with predominantly.
If you are the type that is more concerned about what you do, you run the risk of becoming activity conscious. You might end up neglecting the defects in who you are becoming.
The better option would be to focus on your becoming. Let your becoming determine your doing.
Let who you want to become determine what you are going to do.
Let what you do be motivated by who you are and who you want to be.
The greatest gift you can give to the world is becoming who you were meant to be.
Focus on becoming who you need to become by doing what you need to do.
Change yourself before you can change the world!
