Are you running from something or running to something?
The answer to that question will have a dramatic effect on your success.
The Importance of Your Why
What motivates us to do something will drastically impact our success or failure.
How many of us make New Year’s Resolutions and give up on them by the second week of February? Nearly 80% of people, myself included (when I made resolutions) stop and give up.
But what if “our why” was motivated by going towards something and not in running away from something?
In my life, I spent many years running to get away from jobs that were less than ideal. I didn’t really care about the job I went to, I just wanted to get out of my bad situation.
Finally, when I became self-employed, it was something I wanted. I feared doing it for a while, but when the time came, and with my wife’s support, I was able to go into self-employment with a strong “why” and have been happy being self-employed since 2012.
Defining Your Why
Instead of escaping your past, when you seek a better future with a solid “why” you will be able to weather the storms and challenges that come into your life.
In my office, I have posted the following quote, “if it is important to you you’ll find a way if not you’ll find an excuse.”
It is true.
For something to be important to you, you need to know why it is.
People lose their way when they lose their why. — Gail Hyatt
Personally, my “why” stems from a 1989 song by Steven Curtis Chapman. The song, “More To This Life” includes the lines:
Tonight he lies in silence staring into space,
And looks for ways to make tomorrow better than today,
But in the morning light, it looks the same;
Life just goes on.
He takes care of his family, he takes care of his work,
And every Sunday morning he takes his place at the church;
And somehow he still feels a need to search,
But life just goes on.
This song dogged me for years. Especially the years when I changed from one job to another every 2-3 years.
My “why” became clear to me. I want to live the life God has called me to. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
My “why” clarified as I looked at what brought me life; taking complex concepts and explaining them to people in terms they can understand.
In my web design business, I found I spent more time and enjoyed the time, explaining the need for effective copywriting, engaging content/images, and the like. I enjoyed designing the sites but felt alive as I taught what I knew.
To define my “why”, I use a variation of phrases taught by Jeff Goins and Michael Hyatt.
Every Christian should follow God’s calling, even when it’s into self-employment.
I am a guide who helps Christians understand the complexities of self-employment so they can live the life God has called them to.
Try out Jeff’s, “Every _____ can/should _____. “
Here is Michael’s, I am a _____ who helps _____ do _____ so that _____.
Conclusion
This is a simple exercise to do. However, it is not an easy exercise.
Filling in the blanks on those two statements may require multiple drafts and multiple hours to “get it right.”
While there is no 100% right statement, there are those that will ring truer than others.
Give yourself time and grace to search your heart and your past to see what you are being prepared for and what you are being called into.
