Is Your Why Greater Than You?

Is your why bigger than you are?

What do I mean? Well, many of us make goals but then something always ends up interfering.

We want to lose weight but unhealthy food is an affordable and immediate pleasure we rely on.

We want to be fit but we work hard and deserve to spend nights hanging out on the couch.

We want to learn to play the guitar like Clapton but our friends keep inviting us out to get a beer instead.

Life coaches often recommend we find the why of our goal; why the desire to accomplish this goal specifically?

Do you want to lose weight to look good? Or to live a higher quality of life in which you can enjoy your children and maybe even grandchildren?

Or did you set the goal to lose weight because you know you are a few pounds over and probably should? Or feel pressure from a loved one or doctor to do so?

To be successful in any goal we must figure if we actually care about its accomplishment! In other words, is the why, or reason for the goal, bigger than you and your desires?

In times past I did the basics for my health but barely. Then I started working as an interpreter in medical settings and…wow.

To see the effects of a lifelong sedentary person or one that doesn’t floss or eats junk all day long gives motivation for change. Having a front row seat for others negative consequences of my own behavior, and not wanting to suffer the same, gave me my why.

Most people don’t have the opportunity to be a fly on the wall in other people’s lives like that and one doesn’t need to to weigh consequences. Find an important reason for YOU to make, what is sure to be, a considerable effort in creating a new habit. Or maybe acknowledge the effort is not worth it, to YOU, and set it aside. For me, being a great painter would be awesome but looking down the road I would rather have spent time with my loved ones than paint a picture and I feel not one bit guilty about that; the why wasn’t bigger then me.

However, some habits (quitting an addiction, activity, etc) are so worth the pursuing that digging deep for a reason to do them is important. It may be that your love for your friends and family and desire to alleviate their concern over you is enough for a why until you find something internal.

Let’s continue to grow but remember we are constantly presented a bazillion avenues of growth and must decide what’s truly important to us individually and ruthlessly weed out what’s not.

Take care.

Image Sources:

Y u- Renaissance chick
Pink Card- someecards.com

Advertisement