In general, it is very easy to talk about the “what”. What you do for work. What your goal is at the moment. What you are doing over the weekend. What exercise you did last week.
Far harder for most people is the “why?”
Why do you do what you do?
Why is it important to you?
Very often we find ourselves doing things based on the situation in front of us or because it’s part of our normal routine. As a result the what is very clear but the why is becomes far less obvious.
Which is a problem if you want to stay motivated and engaged.
Take a goal you have undertaken. Perhaps it was a career related aspiration, a change in lifestyle or something to do with your health. At first the why tends to be very clear and we launch full steam into making it a reality. Over time however, our initial reasons become fuzzier, and we start to lose motivation.
You can no longer remember why you get up to go to the gym at 6am. You don’t know why you decided to go back and study. You forget why you decided to give up alcohol on weekdays.
And so your resolve slips, and you start to fall off track.
That is because it is the why that will help you maintain your resolve. The why, is what will help you remain clear on your motives and stick to the path you’ve chosen.
So if you find yourself lacking in resolve, or struggling with a particular goal why not go back to the why. Why is this important to you? Why is it worth investing your time in? Why is it going to make your life (or that of those you love) better?
When you can answer these questions you will find that it is much easier to regain (and maintain) your motivation.
