Ask Yourself Why

My oldest daughter just told us that she and her husband are buying a new house. She is excited and overwhelmed because there are a lot of moving pieces. When I told the news to my youngest I was surprised by her one-word response. She looked at me and said, “Why?” I said, “Well, I’m not exactly sure what all her reasons are. The next time I spoke with her I asked her why she had decided on this house, and she had some very well-thought-out responses. It did make me think though about how important our why should factor into our decisions.

My husband was trying to convince me that on our next vacation, I should go parasailing. I said, “Honey, I am terrified of heights. Nothing about parasailing would make me happy, so why would I force myself to do it?”

What was your answer to why you should do the job you are doing now? If you asked yourself why you are doing your work, would the answer be the same? What about with your partner? What qualities attracted you to that person? Has your answer to why this person changed?

There are so many things in our lives that we should spend more time thinking about. We should revisit our answers to our why for each situation. It is so easy to be caught up in our busy, daily routine, and we keep moving on the treadmill of life without checking to see what we need to improve or eliminate for our happiness.

I had to stop and recheck my answers for why while working at a boarding school. I’m terrible about saying no, so I was coaching two sports, on a zillion committees, taking care of a husband, two teens, and a toddler, and teaching six classes. I was exhausted and I wasn’t giving my family what they needed. I had to stop and ask why am I doing this, and the answer wasn’t positive, so I quit and scaled back. I felt as if I finally had my priorities in order.

Ask yourself why for the different situations in your life. The answers might be enlightening and even empowering.