Find your why!

In the 2016 Will Smith movie Collateral Beauty, Howard Inlet, an advertising executive asks his co-workers: “WHAT IS YOUR WHY?”  Why did you even get out of the bed this morning?  Why did you eat what you ate…?  Why did you even come here…?”

He urges them to discover their WHY, just like the British-American motivational speaker and writer, Simon Sinek.  In his book and TED talk “Find your why” he says: “Happiness comes from what we do – fulfillment comes from WHY we do it.”

Quite a mouthful.  Yeah, I know.  But apparently Simon`s theory is not his opinion – it`s a proven fact based on biology, not physiology, and the study of the human brain by real scientists…

But wait, before you read any further.  You will most likely NOT discover your life`s purpose today by reading this Blog…☺☺☺  I have just thought about this a lot in the last few life-changing weeks…

Not only have I received numerous messages and phone calls from aspiring instructors asking for advice and help, last week as I was browsing the web for some new Rebounding inspiration and songs, I was so surprised to see our very own YouTube channel pop up! But the cherry on top was Saturday morning – I got a phone call from Keith and Justine, the founders of ReboundSA, inviting me to get involved with the coaching of Rebounding instructors.

They firmly believe that our Rebounding classes are now officially the best in the country, and they even would like to feature us on their website and on-line instructor courses.   

It seems like only yesterday that I attended the Rebounding course five years ago, at first hesitant to implement Rebounding in our studio.  At the time I bought my own Rebounder, studied the course material in depth and realized that this bouncing workout with its extreme benefits would be invaluable to our Studio and members.  That was in 2014.  We haven`t looked back one single day, and our sessions with 55 rebounders are still filled to the brim. 

Why?  Because we believed in the “why” – we practiced what we preached, stayed consistent and passionate, and applied this practical principle of Simon Sinek:

“The goal is not simply for you to cross the finish line, but to see how many people you can inspire to run with you…” 

I think Les Brown is spot-on when he says: “When your why is big enough you will find your how…”  In all aspects of life… Tomorrow is the last day of our 8-week Summer Challenge, and it seems that almost 96 members are going to finish this one successfully.  In the next few days, we are going to complete the final body assessments, and I`m astonished by everyone’s efforts so far.  I can’t wait to see who our overall winners will be.

…It`s amazing to see what can happen when someone wants something bad enough – then they take the steps needed to make it happen, no matter how long it takes.  Therefore I`m so thankful too that we have implemented the Year Challenge system a few years ago – it`s not only about one Challenge; our overall winners are determined by those members with the best results after completing all three challenges successfully in 2019.   I can’t wait to see who will come out on top!

And yet, it`s about much more than winning a Challenge.  I have witnessed how so many women have conquered their personal goals this year, doing exactly what singer Diana Ross spoke of at the 2019 Grammy awards:

“You can’t just sit there and wait for people to give you that golden dream, you’ve got to get out there and make it happen for yourself.  And on those days that you don`t want to, it`s your WHY that keeps you going…”

…A story is told by John C. Maxwell of a man who came across three bricklayers busy at work. The man asked the first bricklayer what he was doing. “I’m laying bricks,” the worker replied. He then asked the second bricklayer the same question. “I’m putting up a wall,” he said. The man then asked the question one more time, this time to the third bricklayer. The response: “I’m building a cathedral.”

Simon Sinek calls this “the golden circle”.  He says that it`s not enough to know what you do and how you do it. 

At our essence, we are most motivated by knowing why we do things. And it’s through that awareness that we can best connect with others.

“Selling”, he says, is a human experience. “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.”   And how you do it.  I have asked myself why would potential Rebounding instructors be keen to learn from us, here in Ermelo?  I think it’s simply because our classes are different, creative, authentic and even vulnerable at times.  But we are true and naturally inspired.  And now it has become visible to the world as well since we’ve been sharing it on our social media platforms.

…A few years ago, in a moving video talk, comedian Michael Jr. describes the power of knowing your “why.” In it, he showed an audience a clip from a different event, in which he asked a member of that audience to sing the opening stanzas from “Amazing Grace.” The gentleman, a music teacher, began in a deep baritone and sang the refrain flawlessly.

After praising his performance, the comedian asked the teacher to do it again, but this time painted a scenario of true appreciation, such as a family member being released from prison. Not surprisingly, the second performance far outshone the first. This time, the song was performed with added feeling and emotion. The words were more animated, and the tone was deeper and richer. Michael Jr. concluded that, “When you know your ‘why’ then your ‘what’ has more impact, because you’re working towards your purpose.”

…I guess now you think I will ask:  Have you found YOUR why?  And if not, then will urge you to yell out loud and clear with flashing red lights: “U-turn!  You have a purpose problem!!!”

Wrong. You don`t have to have this all figured out.  It`s not that your life is a stumbling mess without a clear why.  Truth is, everyone`s process is different – and that`s okay.  It`s called being human.  We don`t have to download every piece of self-help content to help us find our why, our purpose and ourselves.

Maybe today there`s peace to be found in simply realizing that we`ll never be finished with our WHY.  Our purpose is like a pair of shoes we can never grow into.  There will always be more we can do and more we can be.

But maybe we should all at some point ask ourselves the WHY question – Why do I want to lose those 10kg?  To simply feel good about myself, or because of my complaining, critical spouse?  Why do I struggle to achieve my personal goals?  Why do I stay in a negative relationship?  Why do I go to a job that I hate?  WHY?  And what do I really want?   Who do I want to be…?

We are all familiar with the famous quote by the famous writer Mark Twain: “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why…”

We don`t always know what our calling is, we aren’t sure about today or tomorrow or next year.  We don`t even know what our Creator has planned for us.  Nothing is guaranteed.  I just believe that you don`t always need to run around and struggle to find your purpose.  Sometimes, yes sometimes your life`s purpose is just under your nose…

All you need to do is get out of your own way and follow your heart…

Yours in fitness

Mirna

082 779 0507