I have been reading Ken Dychtwald’s latest book With Purpose, exploring the shift in mindset from success to significance – getting off the “fast track” of what everyone says will lead to fulfillment, and going within to find out what means most to you as the ways to invest your life energy.

It is that very shift to which Shunryu Suzuki refers in his writings on quality of being:

“When you do something, if you fix your mind on the activity with some confidence, the quality of your state of mind is the activity itself. When you are concentrated on the quality of your being, you are prepared for the activity. Movement is nothing but the quality of our being.”

By January 14 each year, most people have virtually forgotten about their New Years resolutions. But there is another way to move toward our goals without strain or struggle.

In the Western culture, we are taught to focus on the activity, not the quality of who we are being while we are doing it. But this is exactly how we get overwhelmed: we get into our head (and out of out body) and get caught up in the tasks instead of what we bring to the task – or what its ultimate effect and outcome will be.

True freedom and peace come when we relax into our activity and live totally in the current moment (versus thinking about a past similar experience or worrying about the future).

Here are 3 tips for bringing a full quality of being into everything you do – even as you resume your activities after the holiday season:

1. Before you begin doing something, breathe, focus your mind, and become intentional about what you are doing and how – as well as “who you are being” as you do it.
2. If your mind begins to wander, simply notice it and bring your attention back to the task – but stay conscious and intentional.
3. Don’t multitask! Once you have completed one task, take a moment to acknowledge your success, then consciously choose what is next. A great question to ask is either “What would bring me the most joy now?” or “What am I feeling led to do next?

Enjoy celebrating your being this week!

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