Finding your why.

My sister-in-law recently showed me a video made by her fitness trainer.  The trainer spoke about “finding your why.”  In the context of this video, the trainer’s “why” was her health, she worked out to be healthy and to avoid some of the genetic pitfalls that ran in her family such as diabetes.  The video made me think that “finding your why” is really important when you want to make a positive change in your life.  The trick is that your “why” has to be linked to an important goal or value that you truly have.  Let me explain.

I workout to look good.  That is NOT my “why.”  I’m a very low maintenance, low makeup, low fashion kind of girl, and if I told you that was the reason for my “why,” you’d then understand why I consistently fall off of the fitness wagon.  That was not my true “why.”  It wasn’t until my doctor told me I was testing pre-diabetic that I found my real, motivational reason to workout.  Finding my true “why,” has been instrumental in keeping me fit.  To be quite honest I am still really struggling with this.  I’m not quite adept at refusing a chocolate cake or a frozen yogurt, but I’ve definitely diminished my intake of sweets.  To my credit I walk an average of 30 miles a week, but there are times when I just want to sleep!  My “why” is my health, not only today, but the health of the person I will be in twenty years.  I’m trying to take care of her.

Finding your why is also critical when making a big change in your life.  Changes like getting a divorce, losing weight, moving to a new city, getting a new job, quitting a job, and getting married, can usually go badly if you don’t understand your reasons behind such a change, and how those changes relate to your core values.  Not taking the time to understand yourself leads to dissatisfaction and disappointment.  We all need to spend more time evaluating how we truly feel and what our goals are in life.  Sometimes we tend to let life happen to us instead.

This becomes extremely important in our forties.  The myth of midlife is that we have it all figured out.  The truth of the matter is that during a person’s life they change on a constant basis.  The person you were in your twenties is not the person you are today.  The person you will be in your sixties will also be quite different.  Throughout it all, as you go through life, you will always explore and find your why, and that “why” will change as you age.  This is the journey of life.

The most important moment in your life is right now.   Take the time to “find your why,” and live the happiest, most fulfilling life you possibly can.