People get stuck in the on position. If they aren’t moving things forward, making things go, getting somewhere, achieving something, or transitioning from this to that, then their world is off kilter and they start looking for ways to fix it. There is no rhythm to their lives, just a constant go and go and go. There’s not downshift, no rest only rest breaks, and no enjoying what has been achieved. Enjoyment is something that happens when the work is done and the work is never done. If there is an empty space then it’s time to fill it with one of those things that hasn’t been accomplished yet. They come in all sizes so there’s always one that will fit into this space or that.
People who are stuck in the on position will tell you that there is too much life to live and too many things to get done so they “have to” be this way or else they feel like they are losing time, missing out, not going to hit all the marks, don’t know what to do with themselves because there is so much to get done. If you ask about what they’ve accomplished so far they will tell you that’s it not good enough, not really valuable at all, not satisfying, only a small part of a much bigger picture, and irrelevant to what is happening now and what is coming up. It’s like they live on a line where everything ahead of them is in Technicolor, everything behind is lifeless grey scale and they are fighting to keep up with the line because if they aren’t going full out it will leave them behind. Standing still is death, basically, or what could be worse, not doing.
When doing becomes a habit, it robs us of the ability to be. Being becomes the enemy of doing. It becomes the opposite, the brakes to achievement and accomplishment and success. The doing habit strips everything of their actual meaning by putting them in perpetual motion. Those who get stuck in the on position never savor what they have achieved, they just see it as another building block to the next project. Being should be the reason we are doing so if we’re not able to be with ourselves, with others, with the world in a state of not doing, then we need to check the switch and try turning it off. If just reaching for the switch or acknowledging that it exists is causing anxiety, it’s time we start evaluating whether or not we have a doing problem.
