Doing Mode vs. Being Mode

In Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, we recognize two basic modes of mind: "Doing Mode" and "Being Mode."

Doing Mode is where most of us spend a lot of our time. Doing Mode is focused on achievement and outcome. It is result oriented. An example of Doing Mode might be that if we are traveling on a road trip, we would be obsessed with getting to our destination and we would miss all of the scenery going by. It would be more important that we get from point A to point B in a certain amount of time, and we would only see the trip as successful if that time coordinate is met.

Being Mode is not concerned with the ultimate goal or outcome. Being Mode is all about the process, not the result. We notice the scenery as we move through it, and we enjoy the journey itself, moment-by-moment, rather than concerning ourselves with the future outcome. When we are in Being Mode, we are in the present moment, and we are available for everything that moment has to offer - pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral though it may be.

Being mode is probably best summed up in the old saying, "The journey is the destination."

Blessings,
Roger