In July 2020, I read an article in the McKinsey Quarterly entitled “Making a daily ‘to be’ list: How a hospital system CEO is navigating the coronavirus crisis.” This article completely changed my perspective on productivity and focusing on one’s Why. Prior to this article, my philosophy was simple: “If you want to know someone’s why, look at their to-do list.” It seemed as logical as the old saying, “If you want to know someone’s heart or priorities, look at their checkbook.”
But that McKinsey article shattered my assumptions about purpose and revealed a profound truth I had been missing.
The Revelation of Being
The hospital CEO profiled wasn’t just managing tasks during an unprecedented crisis—he was anchoring himself in who he needed to be. Instead of frantically adding items to his to-do list, he was intentionally crafting a “to be” list. Be present. Be calm. Be decisive. Be compassionate. His actions flowed naturally from his being, not the other way around.
This shift from doing to being represents more than a productivity hack—it’s a fundamental reorientation toward authentic purpose. When we focus primarily on our to-do lists, we often find ourselves reactive, driven by external demands and expectations. But when we center ourselves on our to-be list, we become proactive agents of our own purpose.
Think about it: anyone can copy someone else’s to-do list and execute the same tasks. But you cannot copy someone’s being. Your authentic self—who you are called to be—is uniquely yours.
The Scriptural Foundation
This revelation began to illuminate Scripture in new ways. Second Corinthians 5:21 suddenly made profound sense: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
Our why and Christ’s “why” are captured in a two-lettered word—be—in this verse. Christ’s ultimate purpose wasn’t found in His to-do list of miracles, teachings, or even acts of service, as meaningful as they were. His why was rooted in His being: to be sin for us so that we might be righteousness in Him. The doing flowed from the being.
When we speak of our why, we often point to external reference points—another person we want to help, a place we want to impact, a cause we want to advance. But what if our why is more fundamental than that? What if our why is not something we do for others, but something we become in relationship with God and then naturally express in the world?
The Life That Is the Reward
This understanding finds beautiful confirmation in Jeremiah 39:18, where God speaks to Ebed-Melech: “Because you trusted me, I will give you your life as a reward” (New Living Translation).
Notice the profound simplicity: your life is the reward. Not the things you accomplish. Not the recognition you receive. Not the external markers of success. Your very life—your being—is the prize.
Often we tie our sense of purpose to some form of external reward or outcome. We think our why must produce something measurable, something that others can see and validate. But Scripture reveals a different truth: our why is our life, our being. The reward is not separate from who we are—it is who we are.
Living from the To-Be List
This doesn’t diminish the importance of action or productivity. Rather, it reframes them. When your being is aligned with your purpose, your doing becomes an authentic expression of who you are rather than a desperate attempt to prove who you think you should be.
Consider the difference:
- A to-do list asks: “What must I accomplish today?”
- A to-be list asks: “Who am I called to be today?”
The first question creates pressure and anxiety. The second creates peace and clarity.
When we know who we are called to be, we naturally gravitate toward activities and commitments that align with that identity. We say no to things that conflict with our being, not because we’re being selfish, but because we’re being authentic.
Your Why Revealed
So what is your why? Perhaps it’s not found in your ambitious goals or your noble causes, as worthy as they may be. Perhaps your why is simpler and more profound than you imagined.
Your why might be found in the quiet answer to this question: Who are you called to be?
The answer to that question—your to-be list—may be the very life God intends to give you as a reward. Not as something you earn through doing, but as something you receive through being.
In a world obsessed with productivity and achievement, this might be the most counter-cultural truth of all: your why is not what you do, but who you are. And who you are called to be is reward enough.
-Dr. Ray Charles