In a previous article I talked about how much I love the question why (see article: Stop Procrastinating). I’ve been told in the past to shy away from the question, but no more! In fact, this entire article is based on that very question. Why do you do the things you do? Why do you want to do the things you want to do? We’ve covered the impossible. We discussed how to choose the impossible goal you’re going to go after. We even discussed what failing has to do with achieving success. But then I realized I was missing a crucial component to doing the impossible. I failed you dear readers! You’ve got to figure out your WHY, your c o m p e l l i n g reason.
Be Curious {Again}
So let’s start with why. Ask yourself why. Really. Why do you want to achieve this impossible goal? Why do you want to write a book? Why do you want to lose weight? Why do you want to start a business? Why do you want to move to a new city? Why did you choose to focus on that particular goal to change in your life?
Say it out loud or write it down. Think about it. If you gave an answer, but you know it’s probably not your compelling reason, then don’t worry. We’ll get there. It might take some digging and that’s ok. We’re going to be curious today.
Here’s another way to look at it. Ask yourself this question: Why not stay the same? Why do you want to change the way things are? Because if you think about it, that’s what you’re setting out to do. You’ve set a goal to change your life from the way it is now. So ask yourself: why not keep everything the same? You’re setting out to achieve the impossible, to do something different. Why is it you want to change your current circumstances?
I’ve decided to do something I’ve never done before. Why? Because I want to evolve myself. I want to overcome my current obstacles, learn different skills, meet new people, help more people, add value into the world, be an example of what’s possible, and spread love. Usually when I come up against something difficult, such as a possible failure; or when I do fail and consider quitting, I direct my brain to this thought: I want to be an example. This thought is so compelling to me that when I think of it I feel driven, determined, and focused on the future. It helps me let go of the ‘what if’ and the ‘you can’t’ phrases and take the next step.
I didn’t come up with that compelling reason overnight. But once I figured it out it was a game changer. So keep asking yourself why you want to change. Keep being curious.
Make It Compelling
I was originally going to write about something else today. And then during a conversation with a co-worker this week, I realized I needed to introduce my readers to the idea of a compelling reason. My co-worker mentioned to me that he was working on losing weight and he noticed I write down what I eat each week. I asked him why he doesn’t follow through with writing down what he eats and his answer was that he forgets to, understandably so if it’s something he’s never done before. But I wanted to dig deeper so I asked why he wanted to lose weight. I don’t remember his exact words, but it basically came down to because he wanted to. I think this is where some of us get stuck. I’m not implying that wanting to is not a good reason, but in his case, just wanting to lose weight wasn’t compelling enough.
During the conversation, I realized that my co-worker did have a reason to lose weight, but it wasn’t compelling enough. It didn’t drive him into action, into trying again and again until he got the result he wanted. Your reason for doing something you’ve never been able to do before has to be compelling. Why does it have to be compelling? Because your thoughts inevitably drive your actions. You think a thought which then causes you to feel a feeling which in turn drives your action. Thought->action. Think a hard-hitting, compelling reason and you’ll get massive action towards your impossible goal. Think tiny, underwhelming thoughts and you’ll get tiny, underwhelming actions. Which is going to stand against the storm that will eventually come?
Here’s the thing: you’re GOING to fail. Maybe just once. Maybe a hundred times over. I don’t care how hard you try. You are going to fail. Because you’re not perfect. Whether it’s an epic fail or escape fail (see article: Failing Your Way to Success), it’s going to happen. Let’s just get that part out of the way. So do yourself a favor and create a thought compelling enough to keep you going no matter what.
And as a caveat, I’d like to give you permission to create this compelling reason for you and you alone. Your reason doesn’t have to be for anyone else but you. Feel free to tell the world, but no one else has to believe it or feel its compelling power other than you.
It is a Thought
And it’s totally available to you. Back to the conversation with my co-worker. I asked him this question: “if I told you I’d give you $10 million dollars to lose the extra weight in 5 years, would you do it?”. He quickly responded with an unsurprising yes.
Would you achieve the impossible for $10 million dollars? $20 million? $50 million? It’s an interesting question for sure and I’d love to hear your response in the comments below.
So if you believed that you would get $10 million dollars if you lose the extra weight, then you’d probably be thinking something like: I WILL lose this weight because I want that moolah! And when temptations arose, you’d remind yourself of that thought and you’d say no to the temptations. And when the storm came, you’d be able to weather it because you created such a compelling thought that you wouldn’t let anything knock you down. And when you failed, you’d have your compelling reason to think about and you’d get back up, learn from it, and try again.
Dear readers, do not underestimate your brain. It is powerful. Use it to achieve your dreams, your goals, the impossible, and whatever else you want. Direct it to think and believe what you want it to.
Because It’d Be Fun
If nothing else do the impossible because it would be fun to try. I didn’t set out to write this article to give you a list of compelling reasons to choose from, but if you can’t come up with your compelling reason yet, then borrow this one for now. Because it’d be fun!
The last question I asked my co-worker was this: “what if it turned out I didn’t have the money at the end of the 5 years, would you have regretted losing the weight?” He said he wouldn’t regret it and that he’d be glad he lost the weight and achieved his goal. Sweet.
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