Knowing Your “Why”

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Now that’s well put — I don’t know much about Nietzsche, but this particular quote captures the essence of what I’ve been trying to share with people in my life over the past several weeks.  Heck, really, it’s at the essence of a lot of the work I do each and every day, having clients understand the reason behind what they’re striving to do, or what they’re doing.

There can be a temptation — actually, it’s less of a temptation, I think, and more of a tendency — to think about and focus on the “how” of what gets done.  There’s sort of a cursory moment spent on why something is being done, and then you quickly move onto the “how”, figuring out the plan of action.  What I’m learning and realizing is that no plan of action can be truly effective without a solid anchoring in the “why” — the reasons behind — the plan’s execution.

This morning, as I lay in my oh-so-cozy bed, safe and sheltered from the brisk, cold morning air outside, my wretched alarm went off.  Today was a running morning; although my 10 km race is officially completed, my running partner and I have agreed to try and continue running regularly, at least until the snow flies — and maybe even beyond that.  This morning, I was regretting having made the commitment, and even tried to convince myself that I could hear rain on the rooftop (we have a standing agreement that we won’t run when it’s raining hard — we’re not that committed to the running, at least not yet!).  As I lay there contemplating ways to avoid getting out of bed, I turned my attention to why I had made this commitment in the first place.  Having achieved my goal of completing the 10 km this past weekend, and finishing within my set time frame, and experiencing the exhilaration that came with all of that, I agreed with my running partner that it would be a shame to let go of this particular aspect of our schedule now.  There’s a way that getting out and running a few times a week fuels us, physically, mentally, emotionally.  Plus, we agreed that it would be neat to run another race next year — and so continuing to run now will facilitate easier training for whatever event we choose to focus on.  recalling all of this, and aligning it with my very real desire to honour commitments made, I hauled myself out of bed and ran 5 km this morning.  In the end, it was invigorating — the initial crispness in the air was soon forgotten as we ran along and enjoyed the clear sky and some great conversation.

The implications for life beyond running is this:  you’ve got to know your “why”.  And my sense is that, the question is best answered from your heart-space, rather than your brain.  When you know “why” you’re doing something, creating something, pursuing something, the “how” flows a bit more naturally; and even when the “how” seems elusive in any way, or when it seems challenging at all, the “why” pulls you through.  This, I believe, is what Nietzsche is pointing to.

I was recently sent the following link — it’s not that long a video, but it speaks pretty well to the importance of “why”.  Enjoy — and I’ll write again soon.  Until then, what’s your “why?”

http://blog.ted.com/2010/05/04/how_great_leade/