In 2009, Simon Sinek gave a speech about a pattern he noticed about great leaders and how they inspire action. That TED talk has gone on to be viewed over 53 million times.
Most people and businesses explain what they do, how it’s better or different and why you should buy in to their idea. Why you should care.
Apparently, great leaders do the opposite. They start with Why.
- Why they do what they do. Why they care.
- Great leaders talk about their purpose, their beliefs, their cause, their dreams.
They talk about their “Why”. Then, they talk about how they do it, and finally, what to do.
Millions of people make New Year’s resolutions. But not everyone stops to ask why.
Not everyone has a really good reason why they need to achieve their goal. So, if you’re struggling to keep going with your ambitions, you probably need to tap into a bigger why.
SEOT is an acronym to help us get the most out of life. The S stands for Strategies.
(It’s explained more in the goal setting slideshow)
SEOT Step to Success #9 is to ASK WHY
Think about the last time someone told you do something.
Now, think about the last time you did something because you wanted to.
Chances are, you worked harder and found a way to succeed when it was something you personally cared about.
Asking why takes a little soul searching. It’s easy to start, but it’s hard to dig deep. But, the more personal you get, the more powerful your reason will be.
Think about what you want out of life. Think about your goal. Why do you want this goal? Do you want to become smarter? Richer? Stronger? Healthier? Happier?
Now ask yourself why you want that.
- Why do you want better grades?
- Why do you want more money?
- Why do you want a loving relationship?
- Why do you want to be less stressed?
What’s happened in your past that makes you want this?
What view of the world do you have that makes you want this goal?
No matter what the answer is, keep on asking why. And then take that answer, and ask yourself why you want that, and why you want that… You get the idea.
Eventually, you’ll probably get stuck in a loop. That might be the time to take a break until your mind can unlock a different answer.
The goal here is to see if we can get to a really personal reason why this matters to you.
What does this have to do with strategies? Well, if you can figure out a big enough reason why you need to achieve your goal, then when things get tough, you’ll probably be willing to put in the work and figure out something else to try to keep going.
Why? Because you need to.
Your “why” is so important to you that you’ll find a way to keep going.
So, ask yourself why you want this goal, and keep asking why.
Good luck!
(Hey, are you a teacher? Check out this growth mindset lesson package or this 2021 New Year’s Resolution lesson plan!)
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