Framing Up Your WHY

Hey all - happy Monday!

We’re talking this week about major victories. More precisely - THE major victory.

From a health + wellness perspective - this major victory is your end goal - but it’s likely also vey closely related to your WHY.

Counterintuitively, your end goal is probably not static. It likely is not an end state where you can rest and celebrate only one time. It’s a journey of self improvement, continuous impact on yourself or others, and celebrations all along the way.

Let’s try an example. Say your end goal is to “run a marathon.” This end goal is more likely than not in service of something greater:

• Perhaps running a marathon is a milestone along the long road to a healthy, movement-filled, vigorous life.

• Or, instead, let’s say it’s an achievement that marks a step toward greater trust and confidence in yourself.

• Or, maybe, completing the race is a personal commitment to take better care of yourself - so you can be there for your kids in the future.

As we look at our END GOALS - we should always consider why you set the goal in the first place. Continue to ask yourself WHY that particular end goal matters. Whatever the reason is - it has to speak to YOU.

Another way to frame up your WHY requires some more introspection. Here it is:

Ask yourself two questions:

1. When do I feel like my most authentic self?

2. How can I use my skills to make a positive impact in this world?

Play around with these questions and others like them, write some ideas down, research “ikigai,” and generally soul search for what gets you up in the morning. It could be to take care of one person intimately, or it could be to impact all of humanity. Compare your answers to your end goal, and see if any relationship between the two exists.

Whichever path you take to understand your WHY, once you know the reason behind the existence of your end goal, you have the rocket fuel to propel you to the moon. 

Knowing your WHY is like having rocket fuel in your tank because your WHY informs (and motivates) all other actions and behaviors that precede its completion.

Knowing your WHY is just the first step. But - as the saying goes - “Ideas are Nothing, Execution is Everything.” Next week we will talk about implementing tactics (the HOW) necessary to achieve your WHY.

Happy soul searching!

Until Next Time -

Yours in Health,

Nolan