image courtesy of https://blog.uvm.edu

image courtesy of https://blog.uvm.edu

Pause and Consider:

It is time to a take a little break from the hard work that we do everyday on our path towards reaching our goals. Every so often it is good to look into ourselves and answer a few questions to help us reaffirm why we are here and the reasons that we are pushing ourselves along this path. If we don’t invest this time now and then, we will find that we lose sight of those reasons, of our Why and if we lose sight of them, then they don’t actually help us keep going in the hard times. Instead of struggling to bring them back into ourselves while we are feeling  the pain and frustration of difficulty, it is a far better idea to schedule a bit of time for ourselves to look at and analyze our reasons before they are needed. Here are a couple questions to ask ourselves during that time.

Why? This is the first question we should be asking ourselves regularly. Why are we doing this? Why are we putting so much effort into this endeavor before us? By this time, you should have this pretty well figured out your why, but take the time to ask yourself again. It is possible that it has changed or modified since the last time we asked it, and that is okay. Better to have it up to date and strong when you need it rather than having it fold due to being out of date when we really need it.

Who? Who are we walking this path for? If it is just for ourselves, we create a weak incentive to keep at it. Instead, we should think about who in our lives we will help as we journey along this path. Is it the ageing parents we want to see comfortable in their waning years? Or maybe it is our children and their future? The answer to “who?” will be another pillar to support our dreams in those times of strife and pain.

What? What are we really after? The goal we have in mind is a life that we want to lead, a life dictated by our Why and our Who, but What do we actually need to make that life a reality. Do we need the money to achieve our goals or do we really just need to earn what we make in less time per week than we do now. What do we actually need to live the life that we are looking for?

Each time we invested time to answer these questions, we can strengthen and adjust our goals and incentives to be the powerhouse force that we need to keep driving us forward into our future. As in many other aspects of our lives, the investment now will pay out massive dividends when we really need them to rather than trying to create that strength in the time that it is needed.

What are your Why, Who and What that drive you forward each day? Take the time and figure them out today, let them shore up any flagging spirit you might have and help drive you into the future!

-Dominic

Life’s too Short to Have Bad Days! What are YOU doing to make today Fantastic?

I am focusing on why I do what I do!