WHY?

I was recently asked three questions for a publication. 
How do I make workouts fun for me? 
For clients? 
And what is the most important thing for building healthy habits? 

I can answer these three questions with one word….WHY! 

One of the things I learned early on in my career was that there was no amount of external motivation I could give to someone to help them achieve their goals. Ultimately to help people create lasting success I realized I had to help them discover the fundamental purpose behind not only what they wanted but more importantly why they wanted it. 

On the surface this idea can seem quite simple and yet it remains one of the best predictors of success. Almost everyone knows their goal and a lot of people know what they really want but from my experience almost no one knows why they want it.

The process to discover your why is hard, emotional and time consuming. That being said there is nothing more valuable in life than having this self awareness. It will make all future decisions seem that much easier.

When you discover your why and commit to live a life based on its purpose two things will happen. First, you will begin to enjoy the process. The journey will become something you look forward to and not merely a list of to do’s leading you to your goal. Of course impatience, setbacks and bad days will happen but they will be few and far between. The second thing you will notice is that decisions become very simple. Not easy but simple. The proverbial fork in the road becomes much easier to navigate when you have a clear picture of where you are going and why you are going there. 

When you walk through the front door of Blended Athletics above your head in large block letters, spanning 30 feet reads our company why, “PURSUE EXCELLENCE!” For our team of 20 staff and over 700 active members this is more than a motivational reminder, it is a way of life! A commitment to be better today than you were yesterday. To continuously find ways to learn, grow and develop. One of our members summed it up best when I asked her what type of person shouldn’t come to Blended? Her response was, “If you don’t want to get better you shouldn’t come here!” 

A lot of people ask me how we were able to create such a community of growth minded people. The truth is most people who come to us aren’t ready for such a change. They know they want to live an extraordinary life but they don’t yet know WHY! It is only through their own self discovery when they are able to define their why and truly begin the pursuit of excellence. I get to work with some of the most motivated people from our city and this understanding of why connects them, builds community and ultimately nurtures an environment conducive to growth. 

To start this article I was asked about fun. Specifically how I make workouts fun. Webster dictionary defines fun as “what provides amusement or enjoyment”. Is it amusing to get out of a warm bed for a cold run? Probably not. Do most people get enjoyment in turning down a piece of cake or glass of wine? No one I know. Extra sets of tempo squats are never amusing or enjoyable. To be clear I am not saying knowing your why will always make the workout fun. What I am saying is that knowing your why will provide purpose and context to all of those things which will make the journey fun! If I could give anyone reading this any kind of parting advice it would be to surround yourself with like minded people (your tribe) and start the self discovery journey in search of your WHY!