Jan 26, 2018
One of the things that comes up frequently when you trying to build your business is knowing your why.
Your ‘why’ gives you the passion and the drive to keep going. It helps you to know in yourself why you are doing it and brings your emotion to the fore (in a good way) when you are discussing what your business is with others.
Like lots of things, we think about this when we’re first starting or when we’re trying to take a different direction. It is all to easy to then tuck it away and not come back to remind ourselves what our ‘why’ was. Our ‘why’ can change, or it might stay the same but we lose sight of it!
I’ve been thinking about this as I was speaking to someone earlier this week. She was finding it hard to get motivated. Everything was feeling tough. I asked her why she was trying to build her business. She gave me the business reason – how her business will help others.
I said “No, that’s what your business will do for others, why are you doing it? What does it mean to you personally?”
She thought about it and then started to tell me more, we talked about how she would feel when it works and how she would feel if it doesn’t work.
She cried.
I felt bad.
She told me not to, that it was good. It was the first time she had said out loud the real reasons she wants to do this and what it really means to her.
I feel like I know her so much better because she shared this with me. Her reasons are personal and may not be something she shares with the wider world, but they are what drives her. They give her the passion to keep working at it.
Since our conversation, she has been making real progress. I think it is a combination of reminding herself of why she really wants to do it along with the look we had at making her expectations of herself realistic.
The more I thought of our conversation, the more I realised that I to need to revisit my ‘why’. I’ve been doing that. Thinking about why building this business is so important to me. What it means to me personally and to those around me. It makes me somewhat emotional and I think that’s okay.
Business doesn’t have to be hard core, being yourself, knowing your why and bringing your personality and your warmth to the table are good things. How much you want to share is up to you.
As you think of your why, take into account all the other things in your life that are important and make sure you are making the decisions that are right for you. Not the ones that someone else says are right. We’re all different – different stages in our lives, different personalities, different priorities, different situations.
Have you thought of your ‘Why’ recently? I’d love to hear about how reminding yourself of it has impacted the way you think.
Debra Levitt
I work with people who want to change the way the work, decrease their stress levels so they can start focussing on what is really important in their business.
Get “Top tips to Stop Stressing” at toptips.bridginggaps.uk.
If you’d like to know more, check out my video on the home page. or drop me an email!