The Power of Asking Yourself WHY

**Photo from startwithwhy.com

The WHY of whatever you’re doing is such an important question to ask. My friend Scott Dinsmore of Live Your Legend is a big proponent of this way of thinking. Check out his stuff here.

Simon Sinek recently published a book titled, “Start with Why.” The premise is that anything and everything you do should have a Why behind it.

Why do you do the work you do? Why do you workout? Why do you eat a grilled chicken salad over a cheeseburger and fries? Why do you go to church? Why do you use a performance methodology like GTD?

We all know WHAT we do and HOW we do it. Think about your job. You work for a living most likely (this is the WHAT). You go to work everyday and do your job (the HOW).

The Typical Why:

You most likely do it for the money you earn to support yourself and/or your family.

The question is, is this the real WHY you want to embody?

Apple doesn’t make products to just make money. There are many other products that do what they do. They have a greater mission. Apple changes the way we interact with technology. They have a desire to break free of the status quo. To do big stuff….quite simply, they want to influence the world in a great way.

Mother Theresa’s passion was helping the less fortunate. She didn’t do it for the notoriety. She didn’t do it for money. She did what she did fueled by a passion to help others. She woke up everyday with a desire that blows up the limits that we hold ourselves back with.

Look yourself in the mirror tomorrow morning and ask yourself WHY you’re doing what you’re doing. What drives you at work? What drives you at home? Are you proud of this? If not, you have some work to do.

My wife stays at home with the kids. It’s the most important (and most difficult) job in the world. I know there are many challenges with this (and simply being a parent – stay at home or not). The WHY is what gets her through those challenges.

Finding your WHY can be a big question to answer. It’s okay if you don’t know yet. Just start to think about it. It could literally change your perspective on life.

One of the greatest ways to fuel your life with the satisfaction of the WHY question is to do charitable work. I’ve been fortunate to work with a charity, Creative Living, over the last three years. Working for a cause is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. When I sometimes question the WHY in my professional career, it helps to know I’m answering this WHY question in other facets of life.

WHY do you exist? WHY do you go to the gym when you don’t feel like it? WHY do you read? WHY do you write? WHY do you love? WHY do you call your parents? WHY do you procrastinate?

Answer the WHY and you will open up many more doors than you ever thought possible.