When you get into the initial stages of looking at what a Big Why looks like in your life and how it can play out externally, there are several things that you need to keep in mind. This also applies to the setting of any goal.
Please take my advice and DO NOT worry about HOW something will get accomplished. The mistake most people make when they start thinking about the purpose of their life is that they start thinking how they are going to accomplish something. This question inevitably leads their thinking to how it can’t be done, rather than how it can. You will immediately start thinking about all the problems, all the obstacles, all of the reasons why you won’t succeed. The how at this point is irrelevant. If you knew how to do something you probably would have done it by now. As German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche first coined; “He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.” I like to tweak that statement a little bit to say he who has a why to live for, can figure out almost any how. You see, “Why” is a much better question.
So, set your sights on something huge! There is a reason I call it a Big Why. I mean, get truly unrealistic when you declare your extrinsic Big Why. Lou Tice, founder The Pacific Institute and author of the book Smart Talk, explained it best. He said “Ideas don’t come and creativity doesn’t come when things look alright to you. They only come when they look incongruous to you. Goal setting is creating a new reality in your mind and then observing your current reality external to you. When the picture doesn’t match, you fix it.” Or more accurately, your subconscious goes to work on it. Your subconscious mind is a very powerful thing. So, when you put something into your brain that currently is not the case, it will literally work night and day on a solution to the problem. Have you ever woken up in the morning or the middle of the night with a great idea? That is your subconscious at work while you sleep! Come up with the Why and the How will take care of itself. You see, “Why” is a much better question.
Let me give you an example. Let’s say that you are in sales and last year you had 50 sales. If your goal this year is also 50 sales, your brain gets bored. I already know how to do that, it will think. But if you were to say, “This year I am going to have 70 sales, or this year I am going to have 50 sales but I am going to do it in half the time,” your mind will say, wait! I don’t know how to do that. I better figure out where I am going to find those extra sales or how I can improve on my efficiency. Without you even realizing it, your brain has just shifted into another gear and is keeping an eye out for ways to improve, ways to grow. Remember, you are either growing or dying. Giving your brain some exercise by pushing it is a sure way to continue toward growth. It’s much better than the alternative…