Finding Your Why(s)

When you want to make a change in your life, there are times that it can feel difficult. Ask anyone who has made a New Year's resolution only to find themselves among the approximately 80% who ditch their resolutions before the end of the month! Change isn't always difficult, though. There are times when you embrace change willingly (newly married, newborn baby, new house) or even unwillingly (global pandemic and safer-at-home mandates). These changes certainly bring their own challenges, but they bring joy, happiness, concern for others, safety. In other words, there was a "why".

Simon Sinek has a popular book and TED Talk on the theme "Start with Why". He outlines why it is important for companies and leaders to know their "why", and it shouldn't be just about making money. It's their guiding star and their purpose and the reason for their existence.

So how can we find our why and why should we find our why? Chances are, we want to make some changes or improvements in our lives and finding our why can help. I came across a podcast episode on this very topic, and the podcaster mentioned that you need a lot of whys. That was an a-ha for me!

As you are trying to make changes in your life, you will run into old habits, thought patterns, behaviors that might get in the way of making the change you want. Multiple whys give you hope and keep you focused. They are personal and customizable in various situations. Multiple whys can also help you discover your own stumbling blocks to change.

One of my life buckets for 2021 is health and wellness. I am overweight. But it's not the number on the scale that is important, it's about how I feel. It's about having the energy to do what is really important to me and moving freely and aging well.

List Your Whys

Grab a piece of paper or your journal and write down your whys for one thing you want to change in your life. I think it's important to not censor yourself at this point - just write down as many as you can come up with. You c