Every day people all over the world decide they want to change something about their lives. They decide to change their diet, relationships, spending habits or choose to change careers. How many of those people who decide one day to make that change follow through with it is a different story. We start with good intentions, but inevitably, life always seems to get in our way and derails us for whatever reason. Something or someone comes along, and we either slowly lose our resolve to continue on our path or, even worse, we come to a complete stop. Challenges and setbacks can be difficult to overcome. And a failure can have devastating consequences.
A person with a weak “Why” will find any reason to quit along the way. But a person with a strong “Why” will fight through obstacles to achieve their goals because they have a solid underlying reason to succeed. Your “Why” is the reason you wanted to make a change in the first place. Some folks will say they want to change but make no meaningful action towards it. The desire to be in a better position must be stronger than the comfort of your current situation for a massive change in your life to take place. If you start something half-heartedly, it’s doubtful that you’ll finish and reap the reward of the change you were trying to make.
But what if you don’t know what your “Why” is. If you’re not sure about why you want to start down a new path and make a change in your life, think back on your life and the underlying reasons you chose the path you’re currently on. Sure, things may have happened to you along the way that got you off of your desired path. Still, there are always commonalities throughout your life’s choices based on your preferences, values, belief systems, and what you’re taught. Perhaps you choose the career choice that you’re currently in? Did you choose to have a family or not? Why? Typically there are one or two underlying reasons behind those life choices one can observe about themselves. Try to think about what your reasons are. This little exercise can help you discover your “Why.”
If you have tried to do this and still can’t seem to come up with something, enlist the aid of friends or family. Talk to others who know you and discuss some of your life choices with them. Talk about your thoughts behind why you chose to do the things you do or why you’re where you’re at today. See if they can provide a different perspective and insight into what they think your primary motivations are. See if they’re any common themes that continue to appear to either of you throughout your life.
Then, once you have an idea of what your “Why” is, put it someplace where you’ll see it often. It should be in a location you’ll see it every day, like on your refrigerator or your bathroom mirror. Use it as a daily reminder of why you started your journey. You’ll want to have that constant reminder of why you’ve chosen to create a new path and make that change, especially when the times get tough, as they tend to do. That little post-it note or photo of a loved one at the right time can be just the motivation we to see a difficult task through to completion.