It all starts with WHY
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The other day, I noticed a posting on my Facebook newsfeed that looked interesting. A stand-up comedian was illustrating to his audience the importance of knowing your “why” before you can really find the right “what” to do to accomplish it.
He showed a video clip of this man who was a music director in a school whom he had asked to sing a
few bars of “Amazing Grace.” The man sang beautifully just the way one would expect him to sing.
Then this comedian asked him to sing it again, but this time he wanted the version that reflected the fact that his uncle had just gotten out of prison, and that he himself had been shot in the back as a kid.
The difference in his delivery was literally amazing! There was a different feeling, new expressiveness, elevated energy, and the crowd responded accordingly.
The point the comedian then made was that the first time, the man knew “what” he was supposed to do. The second time, he knew “why” he was doing it, and it made all the difference.
I’ve often have DAHLC members come to me as a wellness coach and ask me to help them figure out “what” to do to get back on track in their wellness journey. It sometimes surprises them to have me first ask them to take some time to figure out their vision of the kind of person they want to be or be like, to envision themselves as their best self a few years down the road, basically to tell me their “why.”
Whys can change over time. That change impacts what we do, how we do it and when we do it to accomplish the new why. It opens up a whole new approach and a myriad of new options with which we can experiment to figure out the new best path to our wellness.
So if you’re having a bit of trouble using old “whats” to create the new you, try starting with a new “why.” Let me know how that works for you. I think you’ll find some pretty amazing results out there.