Sarah is an Adventure Coach who asks powerful questions that facilitate change. She loves to work with people who are driven by adventure and want to create a career that moves and inspires them. Her blog “Summit Your Success” (www.summityoursuccess.com) offers guidance on motivation, confidence building, and moving past fear.
Follow her adventures @sarah_venturer or drop her a line sarah@sarahventurer.com
We tend to focus so much on the “What” in life - we ask ourselves what to do next, what to buy, what job to go for, what to say, what next adventure? If something doesn’t work out then we quickly move on to the next idea, filling our lives so that we feel productive and keep going in the hope that we might get lucky in reaching success and happiness. Have you paused and asked yourself why?
I have discovered that by asking this question it can create long-lasting and meaningful change in your life because it gets to the very core of you. Instead of replacing one thing with the next it gets you to feel more deeply and creates commitment. It’s easy to give up on the “what” because there’s not much depth to it, but your “why” connects with your values and the truth about who you are.
The “why” question can be applied to everything:
Why do you want a new job or to start your own business?
Why do you want more time for adventure?
Why do you want to be in a relationship?
Why do you want to feel fitter?
Why are you here?
This question is an opportunity to pause and understand ourselves better, otherwise life sort of runs away and our dreams can get left behind. Instead of striving through life and gasping for change we can discover a path where we are connected and follow our intuition. I see it as a stepping stone towards clarity and motivation.
When I started to think about leaving my job in London the quick-fix answer was to replace it with another employer, but I felt deflated by the entire process of cv updates and uninspiring interviews. Eventually with the help of a coach I began to question why I wanted change and realised that it was because I want to make an impact with the work I do, spend more time outside, explore my creativity, and to feel a sense of freedom. This didn’t fit in with the 9-5 jobs I was applying for and I knew it would end up in the same old patterns I had already experienced in full-time employment. It was a massive wake-up call to be this honest with myself and initially quite daunting, but once you hit the why button there’s no going back.
I think that the reason we often avoid the big why question is because we fear the realisation that we are so far away from our true desires that they are practically unreachable. It’s like starting again, hitting the reset button. But what if you flipped that fear on its head and decided to get really excited about discovering a whole new life for yourself where dreams come true, people support and inspire you, and life is a magical adventure?
I hit the reset button on my life – it is an exciting, uncertain, beautiful, and emotional journey. I experience fear and anxiety just like anyone else, but I trust in me and my sense of direction. It all started with why – are you ready to begin?