Huey Lewis may have believed that the power of love is a curious thing, but I think the power of WHY is far more curious. Why is such a tiny little word, but it’s such a compelling one. It’s one of the first words we learn, and the one we use the most often as children because it’s the one that allows us to learn the most about the world we live in and our place within it. It’s only after years of listening to big people tell us to stop asking so many questions that we stop asking why. And it’s unfortunate, because, when it comes to our biggest dreams in life, knowing our why is critical to figuring out our how and creating a when; why is the foundation for moving our dreams out of the realm of fantasy and into our physical reality.
Understanding the power of why
About a month ago, I posted an article about never giving up on your dreams, and how our greatest breakthroughs often come just at the moment of our greatest despair. Which is true; but how do you get yourself through that despair in order to get to the breakthrough? When your energy is gone and you’re drained and exhausted, and what you’ve been doing isn’t getting you the results you thought it would, and you have no idea what to next, and you’re feeling like maybe everyone was right after all and maybe it really is too hard… how can you possibly drag yourself back to your feet and keep going?
You can if you know your “why” – the reason and the meaning behind what it is that you’re trying to accomplish or achieve. Because there is always a reason; whatever it is that we want to do, have, or become in life, there is always a greater reason behind the desire itself. Reconnecting with that reason reconnects you with your core values and beliefs and the very purpose for which you are here; this is the power of why.
Your why is your anchor
Knowing and understanding why your dream is important to you – the underlying reason for doing what you’re doing – gives you something solid to hold onto when things get difficult. And they will. We are all here to learn things and I think that part of the reason our dreams are so important to us, and why they will never let us rest, no matter how diligently we try to silence them, is because those dreams hold our greatest potential for personal growth and evolution. Creating the vision we hold for ourselves within our biggest dreams is the best possible way for us to become all that we are capable of becoming, and to contribute all that we are capable of contributing to the expansion of all that is.
And that kind of a journey – the journey of discovering the real you – is going to be bumpy in places; it is going to stretch you out of your comfort zones. And when the fear and self-doubt are strongest, it is the power of why that will keep you going.
Your why gives you clarity and direction
If you know why something is important to you it, it gives you clarity, focus and direction of purpose. Once you make the decision to start moving towards your dream, things often start to happen fairly quickly. Sometimes, it can seem like a bit of whirlwind as avenues and options start lining up for you. And it’s easy to get sidetracked, distracted, or just completely overwhelmed by everything that seems to happening all at once. When this happens, your why will be the compass point that leads back to your best path and keeps you going in the right direction.
Your why motivates you to succeed
Your why is the fire that burns within you; it fuels your determination and it inspires and motivates you to keep working towards that grand vision that you have for yourself. It’s the energy source that will pull you back to your feet when you get knocked down by circumstance, or when you make mistakes. It’s the voice within you, pushing you to ever-greater heights and telling you that you must do this.
In short, the power of why is the force that allows you to get through whatever it takes to get yourself to where you want to be. It is your anchor, your direction and your motivation to succeed. Your why is what allows you to create your vision and live your dream. So what’s your why…?
photo credit: (c) Can Stock Photo
why do we worry? What is the basis of this? It seems illogical, really, yet we do it anyway and do not know life without it, when this should not be the case. Why?
We worry for two reasons: 1) we’ve been taught to; and 2) we’ve experienced pain in the past and we didn’t like and we don’t want to feel it again. Worry comes from fear.