Remember Why It Matters EP 411

I’m taking a class about resilience, and so far, it has been fascinating. One of the first topics we explored was tenacity. I like to think of myself as a tenacious person. And sometimes I am. But if I’m being honest, there are also times when I give up pretty quickly. If something feels harder than I expected, takes too long, or doesn’t give me an immediate result, it’s easy for me to lose momentum. Sometimes I bail when I realize that I might need help or I don’t know exactly how things will turn out.  Here’s something I’m learning about myself: focusing on the kind of person I want to be motivates me more than focusing on the task itself. “Finish this project” might not inspire me. But “be someone who follows through on what matters” feels different. Being a person who keeps the promises she makes, even the promises I make to myself? That is important to me.  “Go exercise” can feel like another item on my list. But “be someone who takes care of her future self” is much more likely to motivate me. Of course, it’s much easier to understand these differences when I’m calmly thinking about it than when I’m in the moment and looking for a reason to quit or to not get started at all.  That’s why it helps to identify our why before things get difficult. Why does this matter to you? Who are you becoming by continuing? Tenacity isn’t about stubbornly finishing everything we start. It’s about staying connected to the things that truly matter. Today, don’t focus only on crossing something off your list. Remember why you put it there in the first place.