Do you have a “being” or “doing” orientation?

09 Dec Do you have a “being” or “doing” orientation?

Do you work to live or do you live to work?

A New York businessman was taking a holiday in a sleepy coastal village in Mexico. He saw a Mexican fisherman coming home with a big catch after a morning of fishing. He asked the Mexican if it was hard to catch so many fish. The Mexican said “no there are plenty of fish out there”.

The New Yorker said “then why don’t you spend all day fishing and not just the morning”. The Mexican replied “I have plenty of fish here, enough to feed my family and even my friends. I like to take a nap in the afternoon, spend time with my wife and children and see my friends, play my guitar and chat into the evening”.

The New Yorker said “if you fish all day you will have plenty of fish to sell. You can use the money you get to buy more boats. Then you can catch even more fish and make enough to buy a fleet of boats. You can then move away from here to a big city and make your business a multi-national and sell it for millions of dollars”. “How long will all this take?” asked the Mexican”. “About 15-20 years” said the New Yorker. “Then what?” asked the Mexican.

The New Yorkers eyes lit up “Ah that’s the best bit, you will be rich and you can retire to a sleepy coastal village, go fishing, spend time with your family, play the guitar, enjoy evenings talking to your friends…”

The Mexican has a “being” orientation. He works to live. His job is not of primary importance in his life, his family, friends and social life are more important.

The New Yorker has a “doing” orientation. His identity is shaped by what he does for a living. His work is his life and everything else is secondary to his work.

Here in the UK and across the pond in the US we are a very doing orientated culture. Sometimes we need to slow down because we may be too busy to notice that want we want is right under our noses. We can have it now.