How big is your why? Looks like a pretty simple question right? But what do I mean by "why"? Well basically your WHY is your reason. Your reason to do something. For a lot of our normal day our reasons to do things are pretty cut and dry. You take the same route to work either because that is your only choice, or you have found out that it is the quickest or easiest way. There is not much to think about with it. The same holds true with a lot of other things such as when to cut the grass (the grass is high . . . hmmm), when to go food shopping (um no food in the house) and what to wear to work. Ok that last one might be a challenge for some. The point I am trying to make is that for normal day to day functions that we have been doing thousands of times, the WHY is easy. But what if you need to jump out of your comfort zone to accomplish that "something"? Think any old WHY will make it happen?
What about personal improvement? Your health? New career? Are you able to change your habits to grow as a person, lose weight or become more successful? There is no magic pill or special lotion to help make these changes. It takes hard work and dedication to accomplish any of these goals. The challenge for almost anyone is having the motivation to take those first few steps. Turning the TV off to read a few pages of a self-help book, grabbing a healthy alternative snack when you are hungry instead of a candy bar, or taking on new challenges at work instead of kicking back are all choices. If it was easy the world would be a much better place. But, stepping out of our comfort zone, taking risks and/or making major changes in our life is hard. It is much easier to find a reason not to. That's not for me, it cost too much, I could never do that . . . are all easy excuses to use to justify not doing something. For those people their "why" just isn't big enough.
I was fortunate to attend a speaking engagement by Darren Hardy. (Publisher and editorial director of SUCCESS magazine www.darrenhardy.success.com.) He used this analogy to explain the "why" factor.
Imagine a wooden board on the ground. Would you walk across it for $20? What if it was 10 feet in the air? How about if it was 10 stories high connecting 2 buildings, would you walk across it then for $20? Now let's put a loved one on the other side and that building was on fire. The only way they can be saved is by you walking across. Now would you?
As you can see the $20 "why" is easy when the board is on the ground. As the board gets higher off the ground that $20 does not have the same value. When that dollar amount turns into someone you love dearly, will your level of "why" change also?
Now let's put this in perspective. When it is time to turn off that TV, start a workout program or take a risk at your job where will YOUR wooden board be? Are these changes so easy to do that the board is flat on the ground? Or will it be so high in the air that there will be no way you will do it? How about somewhere in the middle?
Every choice we make has a "why". Whether it is of the least importance or a major decision, you will always have a reason to do it. It is up to you to make your "why" so big that nothing will stop you.
