Virtually everyone has life goals. However, not everyone achieves their goals.
There are many reasons this is the case. Luckily, even if you’ve struggled to realize certain accomplishments in your life, there are steps you can take to change this.
One of the most helpful is to find your “why.” People who don’t achieve the goals they set often abandon their plans due to lack of motivation. By giving yourself a strong reason to pursue your goals, you’ll be less likely to do so.
That’s why you should keep the following tips in mind. They’ll help you find your own why. That, in turn, will help you change your life.
How to Find Your Why
Look Back on Fulfilling Experiences
A simple way to find your why is to look back on previous life experiences that can help you better understand what you value most in life. Consider making a list of the most fulfilling experiences you’ve ever had. These can be both professional and personal.
Once you have your list, honestly ask yourself why you found these experiences so fulfilling. Keep in mind that you may need to think deeply for some time to arrive at an authentic answer.
If you’re willing to put in the time, though, you’ll almost certainly learn something about your values. For instance, perhaps one of your most fulfilling work experiences involved a project that made a positive change in the world. You might realize that you’re the type of person who is more motivated to pursue their goals when they feel that doing so offers them a sense of purpose.
Honestly Assess Your Strengths
A strong why is a powerful motivator. That said, a strong why should also align with your natural strengths. You’ll lose motivation to pursue a goal if you’re not equipped to achieve it in the long run.
Assess your core, innate strengths. These aren’t specialized skills you developed through training. These are abilities that you’ve either always had in life, or that developed naturally and organically later on. Honestly evaluating them will help you find a why that will continue to motivate you.
For example, perhaps you’re naturally a strong communicator. Maybe you also care about a particular social cause. If so, your why could involve supporting that social cause by leveraging your communication skills to get the word out.
Accept the Minor Why
Your why is a set of innate values that help you focus on your goals. That means it needs to be deeply rooted in your identity.
That also means that finding your why can take a relatively long time in some circumstances. You shouldn’t let that stop you from pursuing your goals in the meantime. Instead, you can simply focus on smaller why’s that may not be as significant, but still motivate you.
Perhaps making enough money to take yourself and your spouse on nice vacations provides you with an immensely rewarding feeling. If so, planning a future vacation could be a small why that motivates you in your career until you find your larger purpose.
Just make sure you actively work at this. Finding your why may take time, but if you want to achieve your goals, it’s essential.
