Monday Motivation: Start with ‘Why’

Coming off the back of last week’s Monday Motivation post, I decided to do more reading into finding my passion. Having started doing the work towards identifying what I’m most passionate about, I wanted to take my search a step further.

Last week I spent most of my free time reading books and listening to podcasts on time management and making the most out of the resources I currently have and making notes on points that stood out to me and allowed me to evaluate my situation.

Aside from being hit hard with the realisation of needing to work on my time management, procrastination and daily planning skills, I came across a very interesting yet obvious trait in the chain of events from all the different life stories and case studies I read and heard.

We all have dreams and aspirations in life and for the most part they started in childhood. Whether it was to be an astronaut, ballerina, singer or fireman, we all have a foundation on which our dreams began. For some of us those dreams didn’t change and our life’s path didn’t steer to far away from those dreams, therefore making them a reality. However,  for the rest of us our dreams evolved as we were made to feel as though they were unrealistic and therefore conforming them to suit “reality”.

While reading “Get It Done Guy’s 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More” by Stephen P. Robbins I came across what would be a useful tip for me to trace my dreams to see where I got off track. Stephen mentioned writing down your dreams and ask yourself why. He said,

Start with your dream and ask why. If you still don’t have a dream, use “I want to be rich, famous and have perfect skin.” Now ask why, then take the answer and ask why again . Keep asking until you get to something so big it’s Your All-Encompassing Life Goal.

I began to write down all my dreams from childhood up until this point. Every thing from wanting to be a singer, an actress and a talk show host to wanting to be a journalist and a film maker.

After doing this exercise I saw a trend in the reason for why I’ve dreamed all my dreams. I noticed that it all comes down to me wanted to give to others the hope, joy and belief in all things being possible in the same way it was given to me by all the people I have admired in my childhood.

It can be difficult to just sit and pull a passion and purpose from thin air. The key is to start with why. Why do you pursue the things you are pursuing? Why do you dream of yourself being in places you want to be?

It’s your why that will steer you back on track when you feel fed up or feel like you have lost your way. It will also help you in making better decisions on a day to day basis as you pursue your dreams. You can ask yourself why while creating your to-do list every day. It will help you to decide what is most important and to prioritise the things that will take you a step closer to reaching your goals and making your dreams a reality.