Commentary
When your son or daughter was 3 years old they regularly asked the question, “Why is the sky blue?” or “Why can’t I eat candy all day?” So many questions with the core “WHY”. The thing is, when humans understand the “WHY” to something, it creates understanding of its purpose or reason. Our ability to answer the Why allows for our children and ourselves to assess and make choices based off the reason behind it! Instead of just saying “DON’T DO THAT!” We should explain WHY we shouldn’t do something.
This applies so much to our #BASEDriven athletes. We have to dig deep into why they play sports, why they go to school, why they treat others with kindness and why they have to learn to work hard for what they want.
The answers we always get when we ask “Why are you here?” is always “To get better.” Then we work through to their CORE WHY. It almost always leads to wanting to live a successful, challenging and fruitful life beyond sports or to play in college. However, even more importantly, it creates the reason why striving to be a good student is so important in accomplishing these goals. We always use the example of how much a college degree is worth today over their lifetime…roughly 2.5 million dollars*. That number alone usually makes their eyes go wide.
Simon Sinek’s video “Start with Why” should challenge you to know your purpose in your work, as a parent and more. If you, yourself, do not know YOUR WHY, how can you expect your children to?
Dream Big,
* Number based off average salary of $61,724 for those with bachelor degrees and multiplying that by 40 years of work with NO RAISE.
Lesson
PASSION.
Passion leads to
PERSISTENCE.
Persistence leads to
PREPARATION.
Preparation leads to
CONFIDENCE.
Confidence leads to
SUCCESS!!!
When you know your ‘WHY’ then your ‘WHAT’ has more impact. It drives you toward your genuine purpose. The WHY gives us our motivation when we are working to accomplish something.
Here is an exercise to try. It may seem a little strange at first, but it may ultimately reveal your true WHY.
- • Ask yourself WHY 4-5 times about the same action.
- • Each response you provide should dive deeper into revealing your true WHY.
- • Please note that some may find this exercise a bit challenging.
Your Turn
| Question 1) WHY DO I (ie. play baseball/softball) _________________________? | Answer 1) Because I ______________________________________________. |
| Q2) WHY A1? | A2) Because I ________________________________. |
| Q3) WHY A2? | A3) Because I ________________________________. |
| Q4) WHY A3? | A4) Because I ________________________________. |
| Q5) WHY A4? | A5) Because I ________________________________. |
Parents, from your 9-to-5 job to carting kids around to sports practices, consider the various efforts you engage in on a daily basis and ask yourself, “Why?” Upon learning more about yourself, consider sharing these thoughts with your kids to help them learn more about you and the significant role your kids play in your life.
Final Thoughts
“If we want to feel an undying passion for our work, if we want to feel we are contributing to something bigger than ourselves, we all need to know our WHY.”
~ Simon Sinek
