Let your passions and values signpost your se nse of purpose, and be the catalyst for lasting change. Heidi Scrimgeour explores…
Have you ever tried to adopt a new habit by force of will, only to feel like a failure when you later accept that you haven’t followed through? It’s an all-too-familiar pattern to me, and one that often follows a declaration of intention to create change in our lives. It’s why costly gym memberships often go unused, and why so many New Year’s resolutions fade before January is even over. But a process commonly called ‘f inding your why’ can reportedly help to turn resolutions into habits, and turn habits into life transformation.
Finding your why is essentially about connecting your actions and choices with your limbic system, according to life design strategist Georgie Shears.That’s the part of the brain that helps to regulate emotion and memory.‘It’s the emotional centre of your brain, and the part that stirs us to act from a place that means something to us on a deep level,’ Shears explains.‘This connection goes way beyond inspiration, motivation, and sheer determination. It is the most powerful catalyst we have as humans for creating sustained, meaningful action.’Tuning into your why, Shears continues, is about ‘channelling your deepest passions and values into a powerful current of purposeful behaviour that you love’, rather than just setting your intention with the kind of steely resolve that gets many of us joining the gym in January, or signing up for Sober October. ‘Think of it like the powerful energ y centre that sits behind your willpower, ensuring that you make your dreams and desires turn into your reality,’ she says. ‘When you pin a goal firmly to your why, it becomes bigger than something that you can respond to with “I can’t be bothered now”; it becomes “I have no choice”’.
Take going for a run as an example. It’s an action that we can go about in several different ways. But connecting the decision to go running to your wider sense of why you’re going to run is a powerful way of making it about much more than just moving your body. ‘Anchoring your actions to your why activates a powerful drive within the emotional part of your brain, which is fuelled by a profound sense of significance and purpose,’ says Shears. ‘This deep connection provides you with a resilient, enduring commitment to your goals, helping you to stay focused, persistent and consistent, and moving you steadily towards your goals and all the things you’ve set your heart on – even when challenges come your way.’ It’s perhaps easier to think about this in the context of people you know in your own life who have achieved remarkable feats. The friend who transformed her health and fitness, or the work colleague who learned a new language. We all know of people who have smashed their goals, seeming to
