Forget about your goals for a moment. I want to know: What’s your WHY?
We all have things we’d like to achieve one day — better body, better career, time freedom, financial independence. But the hard truth is that some of us are better at achieving those goals than others, and it almost always comes down to focusing on purpose.
As a Life Coach and creator of Self Love and Sweat THE PODCAST, I help people all over the world align their bodies and minds for optimal health and well being. But before I got to where I am today, I was like many of you reading this: I had big dreams or goals but didn’t know how to connect the dots from where I was to where I wanted to be — until I found my WHY.
In Episode 1 of Self Love & Sweat THE PODCAST, I talk all about my path to where I am now and the answers I discovered to help me along the way:
Why Start with Why?
The people who come to me for coaching have different goals and dreams, but the one thing they share is feeling like they were meant for more and want to live their best lives. They say they want fulfillment, excitement, and exuberance, and wake up each morning excited about the day.
The first thing I ask them is, “Why?”
And I usually get one of two responses:
First, many of them aren’t sure why. Or, I get a really long, drawn-out answer about why they want to do a certain thing. It usually takes them 15 minutes to spill their guts, and I let them get it all out. But then we backtrack, because ideally you should be able to summarize your WHY in just a few words or a couple of sentences.
That’s because your WHY needs to be bigger and more compelling than how you’re feeling in any given moment.
For me, my WHY for my business and podcast is having the ability to work from anywhere in the world, go see my family whenever I want, and provide maximum impact and value to my audience. I’m from California but I’ve been living in Austria for the last 6 years (update: moved back to USA), and because of how I’ve built my business and podcast, I can work from anywhere and see my family whenever I want, all without sacrificing the level of service to my clients and fans. That is SO important to me.
That’s why we start with WHY: it’s your reason, your driving force behind the hard decisions you’re making and the steps you’re taking on a long (and often lonely) journey to the top.
Ditching the More is More Mentality
I consider myself a recovering “More is More” addict. I used to think that the more I did or the harder I worked, the better the results. But what I lacked was strategy — and I ended up doing everything and nothing at the same time.
This is where my WHY really helped me maintain my focus. I knew which projects were worth my time so that I could evolve from being a chronic starter to actually finishing my projects. I had clarity from the start and could better make use of my time.
Keeping your WHY short and sexy gives you something simple to come back to. It’s the foundation you need when things get tough and you start to lose focus on your goals and why you started your journey in the first place.
What’s YOUR Why?
Now, I’ll ask you again: What’s your Why? If you don’t have one yet, stop everything you’re doing and flesh out why you want to achieve the goals you’ve set. When you do, you’ll be better able to prioritize the right actions and activities that will keep you moving forward.