Summary

Understanding one's core motivation, or 'why', is crucial for overcoming the initial hurdles and persisting through challenges when pursuing new endeavors.

Abstract

The article emphasizes the significance of knowing one's 'why' when embarking on new ventures, whether personal or professional. It identifies the two most challenging aspects of starting something new: initiating the process and maintaining momentum when faced with adversity. The author suggests that a clear understanding of one's underlying reasons for pursuing a goal provides the necessary drive, determination, and willpower to navigate these challenges. This clarity also aids in overcoming common obstacles such as fear of failure and self-sabotage. Drawing from Simon Sinek's concept of 'Start with Why', the article explains that connecting actions to a deeper purpose influences both feelings and decision-making processes. It encourages readers to articulate specific, personal reasons behind their ambitions, as this specificity fosters motivation and sets a clear target for achievement. Visual reminders of one's 'why', such as vision boards or notes, are recommended as daily reinforcements. Additionally, involving others in one's goals can create a support system and a sense of accountability. The article concludes by reiterating the importance of a well-defined 'why' for sustained enthusiasm and progress toward one's objectives.

Opinions

The author believes that fear is often the underlying obstacle preventing individuals from pursuing new endeavors.
Companies benefit from mission and vision statements to guide their actions and decisions, and individuals should adopt a similar approach.
Being specific about one's 'why' is more effective than having a vague goal, as it provides a tangible target to strive for.
Visualizing one's 'why' through physical reminders helps maintain focus and motivation, especially during difficult times.
Sharing one's goals and 'why' with others can enhance accountability and provide additional support.
The author endorses Simon Sinek's philosophy that understanding and articulating one's 'why' is fundamental to achieving success and fulfillment.

There Are Two Hardest Parts to Doing Anything

And all you need to overcome them is knowing your ‘why’.

Photo by Cristofer Maximilian on Unsplash

When trying anything new, whether it’s a new job, a new hobby or a new lifestyle for example, there are always two parts that make it hard to do:

Getting started
Continuing when the going gets tough.

Luckily, there is something that is going to help you overcome these roadblocks.

Namely, knowing your ‘why’.

Knowing why you are committing to something is extremely important.

It gives you drive, determination and willpower to power through these two roadblocks.

They will also give you the power to overcome obstacles that arise with these roadblocks.

And unfortunately, they will arise.

“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” — John F. Kennedy

Why it is important to know your why

Obstacles are going to arise and try to stop you from pursuing what you want to be pursuing.

Such obstacles can include a fear of failure, self-sabotage, practical issues, or any number of things. But most often than not, it is a type of fear that stops you from pursuing something new and exciting to you.

To overcome these obstacles, it is important to get clear on why you are doing what you are doing.

For example, companies do this by writing out a mission and vision statement.

By having a mission and vision for their company, they have a direction and common goal they are working toward.

You can also apply this to anything in your life.

By creating a clear vision and mission for your commitments, you will not only be able to power through obstacles — you will feel more motivated and fulfilled in doing so.

Being able to power through obstacles whilst feeling motivated and fulfilled in doing so, might be explained by Simon Sinek’s Start with Why.

Simon Sinek, the famous management guru, states that it is important to start with your ‘why’. Your why is linked to the limbic part of the brain. This part of your brain not only governs your feelings but also your decision-making and behaviour.

Therefore, as I see it, getting clear on why you are doing what you are doing makes it easier to motivate yourself to make the decisions and take the appropriate actions to pursue your ‘why’.

Get specific

Now, back to the company mission and vision statements.

Like these statements, we often tend to create very general mission statements for ourselves.

Statements such as:

I want to change the world.

I want to help others.

I want to be rich.

And I ask you: why? Why do you want this? What is behind it?

For example, being rich is not just about money. Being rich can be about having options. Having the freedom to decide when you work, how you work, how long you work and what you do. Having the freedom to go on holiday. To buy healthy foods for a healthy lifestyle. To help your family members when needed. To donate and make the world a better place.

Those are already much more specific ‘why’s’.

The same goes for wanting to change the world for the better.

That is a great ambition. One I share as well.

However, why do we want this?

We might want others to be happy. To be fulfilled. To be their best selves, so they have a positive impact on the people in their lives, which then go on to spread positivity to the people in their lives, and so on.

Knowing very specifically why you want to do what you do is important because it motivates you and gives you a goal. By being as specific as you can be with your goal, you have something to strive for that often includes a clear point of achievement. That just acts as an even bigger motivator for your goals.

“Before we can stand out, we must first get clear on what we stand for.” — Simon Sinek, Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team

Visualise it

Getting clear on the ‘deeper why’ behind your reasons is not enough, though.

It might be easy to forget in moments of stress, worry or fear. Especially in moments of life’s busyness and distraction.

So, in order to keep our why in mind and draw strength from it, we can try to put up reminders around us.

Reminders in the form of pictures, notes, words — anything that reminds you of why you are doing what you are doing. Why it is so important for you to continue and preserve. Why the world needs you. Why you need you to step up and do the work.

Creating a vision board is also a great way to visually inspire and remind you on a daily basis.

You can find pictures online that resonate most with your vision, print them and stick them on a board.

But you don’t necessarily need a board or printer for this.

You can also try to cut out pictures from magazines and stick them on the wall. Or simply screenshot a picture and put it on your phone as background. Get creative with it!

You can also just write a note for yourself and stick it on your laptop, TV, bedroom wall — whatever you like.

As long as you see it every day — it does the job.

Involve others in your why

Another thing that helps your why — is knowing who you are doing it for.

Maybe it is for your future self. Maybe it is for your (future) kids, or (future) partner or family members. Make it as clear as you can, and really feel what achieving your why would mean for these people and for yourself.

Next to getting clear who you are doing it for, you can also think about involving others and telling others about your why.

This way, you ‘force’ yourself to do it, because others now hold you accountable to your plans and your whys.

Recap and conclusion

To recap, knowing your why is extremely important to overcome obstacles that get in the way of your goals.

It gives you drive, determination and motivation to get up and continue.

Get specific as to why you want it, that is much more effective and motivating as it gives you a clear goal and direction to move toward.

However, knowing your specific why is not enough. You need to see it everyday to keep reminding you and inspiring you — to help you keep going when the going gets tough.

So make it visual for yourself, write it down, screenshot it, stick pictures of it in your room. Tell people about it, and let them hold you accountable to it.

This will give you the excitement and motivation to get up in the morning and get to work on your goals — because you know exactly why you are doing it and who you are doing it for.

So, do you know why you are doing what you are doing — and for who?

I’d love to hear about it, so share it in the comment section if you want!

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Thanks for taking the time to read. See you in the next one!

With love,

Jelena