Does your "why" make you cry?

Last week I wrote about how as we end the year and begin to embark on a new one, it's time to look back and see how far I've come and think about how far I want to go in the new year. We have a quote from Jim Rohn stenciled on one of the walls in our office here, and it goes like this:

"The goal of this human adventure is productivity, pursuing the full development of all your potential. To see what all you can do with all that you have been given."

That sums it up for me. Last week I touched on the idea that each year should build on the previous year. You shouldn't have to set the same goal every single year to lose the same 20 pounds. But, if that's where you find yourself this year, let this serve as your wake-up call.

So how do you do that? How do you set a goal and actually achieve it? And then how do you build on that each year, so it's a continuing growth pattern? Most people would say it takes brute force discipline. But I have found that knowing exactly "why" you want to achieve something is the secret ingredient to achieving it.

I'll give you an example. When I was a young impressionable freshman in high school, the cool seniors were all tobacco chewers. So naturally, being an impressionable young man and wanting to fit in, I took up the habit—one of the biggest mistakes of my young life. I started when I was 14, and though I knew it wasn't good for me, I kept it up until I was 35. I quit for five years but then made the mistake of picking it up again.

Throughout my marriage, my wife always tried to convince me to give it up. I tried and failed to give it up many times. The fact of the matter is I was addicted to nicotine. But then something changed. I heard a story about how the mother of two young children who had recently died from breast cancer. The conversations she had with her children before she died impacted me significantly. It started to occur to me that I may have to have the same types of conversations with my three children at some point.

I had discovered my "why." So one afternoon, I sat at my desk and wrote down why I would now quit. The thought of having to explain to my children that I wasn't strong enough to stop this stupid habit, and now they were going to lose their father, and them asking me with tears in their eyes why I didn't just stop.

The afternoon I wrote that I had not planned on quitting that day. But I threw the can of chew I had with me in the trash, and I haven't had one since September 2009. The incredible thing about that experience was that I had no nicotine withdrawals for the first time in my life. I can't explain it other than to say that an extremely powerful "why" can move mountains.

So, figure out "why" exactly you want to achieve a goal. Whether it has to do with your health, relationships, career, or finances, you will be unstoppable when you can identify a reason to reach those goals that can bring tears to your eyes.??

Quote of the week:

“The power of your why is what will power you to overcome any obstacle and achieve the seemingly impossible.”

Darren Hardy