What’s your why?
What is the reason that you get up out of bed in the morning? No, I am not talking about reasons you HAVE to get up, like because you have to go to work or have to get your kids ready for school. I mean what’s the point of getting up out of bed in the morning for you?
When I am asking what your why is, I am not asking why you are doing the things you are doing, like why you are doing the job that you are, or why you eat a particular brand of cereal. I mean, what is your life for?
What’s your purpose?
What do you feel connected to?
What do you do feel driven to?
What Does it Mean to Find Your Why ?
Your why doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s, which means it can be difficult to pin down.
It could be that you want to leave a legacy behind. Maybe you want to help people. Or you could be committed to helping people feel more joyous or loved in their lives. Maybe your why is about cultivating compassion in your community. Or it could even be that you want to ensure your families success or to make lots of money.
All of these are valid ‘whys’.
Even with all of those examples, you might be thinking, wow this is actually really tricky. And you are right.
Most of us don’t really do this kind of introspection about our lives.
It’s very rare that we sit back and say, hey, what am I doing? Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this job? Why am I eating certain foods? Why am I not getting up and exercising?
We rarely really take the time to get consciously aware of what’s going on.
Now, I’m not talking about why in the sense of why me? Or why is this happening to me? Or Why does this always happen to me?
I’m not talking about victimhood.
Your why isn’t about being a victim of life, or all the reasons why you are in the place you are now in your life. When I am talking about your why I am speaking about your purpose; it should be empowering, not based in blame of victimhood.
Your Why is Your Mission Statement
Even after all that explanation, you may still be thinking, I don’t get it. Don’t worry, it’s not something we are used to thinking or talking about.
Here’s a great example:
Most companies, large or small, have some sort of mission statement or vision. This mission statement imparts on the staff and employees the values of the organization, in an effort to unite, inspire and motivate them.
Your why should do the exact same thing. Your why is your personal mission statement.
That being said, it should function just like a company’s mission statement; it should inspire you, it should motivate you, and it should inform everything you do in your life. Everything should revolve around your mission statement.
But how do we find out what our personal mission statement is?
Well, if you look at your actions, you will immediately be able to tell what it is that you are truly committed to, and what you are not. Your actions are essential to discovering what your why is.
And keep in mind, your why or mission statement isn’t just in effect when you are at home, or when you are being introspective—it also applies to the work you do in your job, and the role you play in the world.
Losing Your Why
Sometimes it is easy to feel like we don’t understand what the point of everything is. There is this existential angst or feelings of futility or emptiness. We feel lost, and we are always wondering, is this what I am supposed to be doing?
When we don’t connect to our higher mission, we feel uninspired.
We also subconsciously create situations reflecting back to us things that will hold us back—which I have experienced both personally and in my work with many people over the years. It is one thing to realize what is going on in your world is a reflection of what is going on inside, but it’s not always something we are conscious of.
By finding our why we will stop creating these situations, stop pushing and forcing ourselves to just hurry up and figure out life. Instead, we start creating and doing everything from a place of connectedness to that bigger mission and purpose.
The Benefits of Finding Your Why
When we find our way, we have a better understanding of ourselves, we feel more connected and we have more trust in our lives. We also allow others to be a part of that experience.
Whenever we find our why, we sign up for life instead of watching it pass by looking in from the outside. We have a deeper connection with how our actions match up with how things are going in our world and how they reflect what’s going on in ours. When you stop living for materialistic things and start living for your purpose, you will be able to do the best with your life.
The most critical information in this piece is how to find your purpose and how it can help you live a happier life.
What’s even more amazing is how living for the bigger picture allows the smaller moments of our lives to become filled with wisdom, lightness, and enjoyment. When you can look at life from different perspectives you’ll really understand how to find you why.
What are you living your life for? Having a purpose in life can help you grow not only as a person but also have a bigger impact on the world as well as the people around you.
To find how to live a more productive and fulfilling life, you must first answer the question of how you can become a better human being. The more time you dedicate to finding how to find your why the easier it will be for you to work towards achieving your goals as well as live up to your own expectations of how an individual with a purpose in life should live.
Identifying your true needs
If you can’t answer how do I find my why, it’s not the end of the world either. Take some time to think about how you would like to see yourself at the end of this journey. Making a list of how might be a good place to start for some people who are struggling how to find their why. After you’ve made a list, then you might look into how each item can contribute to the main goal and how they relate to your core values (interests and hobbies).
Knowledge: Take time in writing down how you see yourself when looking back at what you have achieved when it is all set and throughout the day, keep your self-talk positive. Remind yourself how you will achieve the goal you are trying to achieve.
It is very easy for people to get discouraged when pursuing their purpose, especially if they’ve had some previous setbacks. However, staying motivated is something that you must learn how to do in order to succeed in life. While having a purpose is a great motivator, there are some effective ways on how to stay motivated and how to find your reason for living.
How you talk to yourself about how you think and feel about yourself makes all the difference in how successful and how happy you will be. Life is about how you make it. If you want to be positive and hardworking, then you have to take that into account how your words affect how you see yourself. When people think of themselves as being successful, it leads them to achieve their goals and dreams more quickly.
Your life is set to how you approach your goals. Aim high, but always be realistic. Living in a safe bubble may seem all nice and perfect, but in the long run, it will hurt how you see yourself when you realize how much more there is to life than comfort. Setting your goals isn’t enough to achieve them first you must fi after them with deep motivation.
Finding your why is an essential piece to realizing your dreams and making them a reality.
I invite you today to take some time and think about this and look at all the inspired actions and activities that you do on a daily basis, no matter what the motivation or inspiration, and think if these could be connected to your why.
Until next time!
Dr. Asha Prasad
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