Why do we bother?
I mean seriously – why do we bother with anything in life?
Why do we take the time to get out of bed and go to work or look for employment?
Why do we create space in our schedules for our friends or care for our home or children?
The truth is, anytime we are actually successful at anything in our lives that success results from a deep inner ‘why’ that drives us. Without our ‘why’ we often tend to meander through life or fall prey to our trials or disappointments.
As I’ve thought about this in my own life, I’ve had to dig deep to find a ‘why’ that has the ability to sustain and encourage me. I also use it as a driving source for my reason to stay committed to leading and loving my body.
It takes some investigating to figure out our deepest why.
On the surface I would say I bother to lead my body for these reasons:
I want to feel good.
I LOVE endorphins.
I want to look better in and out of my clothes.
I want my blood tests to come back positively healthy.
I feel responsible to take care of my body because I see it as a gift
for experiencing life.
It makes me feel empowered and increases my confidence.
I love how it brightens my mood.
I could go on and on…..
These reasons certainly drive me to do my very best and they are great reminders of why I choose to give my body nutrition and choose to exercise 5-7 days a week.
I bet you have some ‘whys’ in your life too!
In order to truly transform my life and find my most consistent focus, however, I needed something deeper. I needed to find out why all those whys mattered?
So…. I asked myself more whys about my whys.
For example:
Q: Why do I want to look better in my clothes?
A: When I look better I feel better and can make a stronger impression.
Q: Why do I care about feeling better and making a stronger impression?
A: So I can have success in my life and business.
Q: Why do I want to have success?
A: Because I want to live my life to it’s fullest
Q: Why do I want to do the very best in my life? (Now this next answer is what truly drives me)
A: Because my dear mother, the only true family I ever had, sacrificed incredibly for me. In many respects she had a difficult life. In the end she lost her life too early. I choose to live my life to its fullest so I may honor her memory and sacrifice. I choose to live victoriously for both of us.
This is the ‘why’ that drives me to get up every day (whether I want to or not) and pushes me forward to love and lead my body so that it will be my tool for living life to its fullest.
This is the reason I refuse to give up.
Do you see – the other whys are important, but this deep why fuels my energy and focus for life. It inspires me to keep growing and improving and to keep trying no matter what life brings my way.
What is it for you? What is your ‘why’ that fuels your life?
If you don’t yet know, then take yourself through the exercise I demonstrated above.
List the whys that you know then drill down to a deeper one, then drill down again.
When you hit the one that makes you cry – you will have found your deepest why.
When you have found that, you have found something worth fighting for.
What is your why? Why do you get up every day to push play in this thing called life?
Share it with us in the comments section and inspire your fellow inspirational leaders.
May this week bring you focus, energy, and your very best success in
living and loving this life to its fullest.
Remember to bring a friend along.
Just about everyone could use a little inspiration from time to time.
Always remember:
Be Inspired! Be Inspirational! Be a Leader!
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The first thing that popped into my head when I read this was, “I want better clothes.” Then the second thing was, “okay no – that’s way too shallow!”
So I put some more thought into it and it comes down to not wanting to be a victim. I want to act upon the world, not just drift along being acted upon by it. From a fitness perspective I’m grateful that my size has never hurt my health, but I want to improve it before that happens. I want to be a good steward of the incredible gift of the body I’ve been given!
Your story about being inspired by your Mom is so lovely, great parents are something to be so grateful for!
Hi Carolyn!
haha That’s awesome! Love that you gave your first reply and then your second. I do that too when I answer these questions.
I love both levels of your why. I’m grateful you have been healthy and are working toward keeping it that way. You’re an inspiration! 🙂
Thanks for your comment about my mom. I was just thinking today (in the shower none-the-less) – I’m fighting for my life. Then I said – why – why fight for this life? Then I reminded myself about my ‘why’. I had one great parent. Hope she will be pleased when I greet her on the other side. 🙂
Hope your day is inspired and inspirational! Thank you for being a meaningful part of our community!
It is a joy an a responsibility to work effectively and joyfully. God gave me this wonderful gift of nursing and it is my joy to honor Him through that gift.
That’s awesome, Paula. And while you honor God you help those in need. Beautiful. Thanks for your inspirational response!
Good question! I’ve been thinking about it off and on today. For me it’s a combination of health (wanting to be a good mom/wife and feel healthy personally – hard to be a good mommy when I’m depressed or anxious and working out helps me immensely with that) and also faith. I feel called to do certain things in this life, and to be a good steward of what I’ve been given, but we all know this life has a lot of broken parts (like our knees or wrists or backs . . . not to mention our hearts and minds!) and I feel like I should fight the brokeness of things because I am created/designed to be NOT broken. It won’t happen in this life time, but my faith propels me to live with an attitude of hope and certainty that brokeness/injury/anxiety etc is not what we were meant for, not what our kids were meant for, not what our relationships were meant for. And to me working out/fitness is my response to that. I feel like I should push myself to be more of what I am designed for even if I don’t get there in this lifetime!!
Esther,
Thank you so much for your incredibly meaningful and powerful response. That’s what we’re talking about – something that runs so deep that you just can’t refuse it. I’m inspired by your response and I have no doubt many of our inspirational leaders in our growing community will be as well. Thanks again! With a ‘why’ like that, you’re gonna be pretty hard to stop. 🙂
LouAnn
Why Bother?
Yadda Yadda Yadda – GOD !
yadda yadda yadda? Everyone’s reason is valuable and important no matter whether we agree with them or not. That’s the spirit here at Inspirational Leading. We value each other and respect differing viewpoints. I’m glad you have found your ‘why’ that keeps you going and keeps you alive.
Hi there, I bother because I want to make a difference in the world. If I take care of myself I can feel more confident and pursue a purpose for myself and others. Being a part of the whole, I want good health and mental strength and power to live a great life. From there I can do all things!!