Why, why, why? To anyone who has ever had or been around a toddler you know that WHY is their favorite question. Why is the sky blue? Why is the moon called the moon? Why do we have to sleep? Along with cuteness, and minor annoyance, there is wisdom in this incessant line of questioning.
Somewhere along the way adults stopped asking why. We became more concerned with how and what. WHAT are we doing next? HOW are we going to get it done? How much is it going to cost? What will it look like and when will it be ready?
It’s human nature to go from what’s easiest to understand to what’s hardest to understand. In terms of MISSION or PURPOSE, most of us think, act and communicate from the outside in (WHAT–HOW–WHY).
Those with the capacity to inspire do it differently. They think, act and communicate from the inside out (WHY–HOW–WHAT).
The WHY corresponds to the limbic brain, which is responsible for our wisdom, creativity, and feelings, such as trust and loyalty. This part of the brain drives all human behavior and decision-making but has no capacity for language. This is how we are hardwired; it’s biology, not psychology.
But a WHY is who we are wherever we are—not just at church, but also at home, work or with friends. Though it may seem strange to speak in these terms, church is actually a WHAT. Your WHY will come not from talking about your church/spiritual community, but from talking about the feelings your church evokes in you.
During the FINDING YOUR WHY discovery process, you will inevitably find that the contribution you make to your church members and the impact it has on everyone are the same contribution you will make and the same impact you will have on others in any situation that brings out your best self.
The bottom line is your church is not your WHY. The reason your best friend loves you is the same reason your significant other loves you, and it’s the same reason your best client or colleagues love you too.
Our WHY is our purpose, mission, cause or belief—the driving force behind everything we do.
Our HOWs are the actions we take when we are at our natural best to bring our WHY to life.
Our WHATs are the tangible manifestation of our WHY, the actual work we do every day.
While other individuals or organizations may express their WHY in a way that is similar to yours, it’s HOW you bring your WHY to life that makes you unique. As a result, the combination of your WHY and HOWs is as exclusively yours as your fingerprint.
Your WHY does not express who we want to be, it’s not aspirational. From the FINDING YOUR WHY discovery process you will find the North Star, that drives how you actually behave—the things we actually do when we are at our best. When we FIND OUR WHY we can choose actions to take on a daily basis to help ensure that we’re creating the type of environment in which we thrive, expressing our most noble self as individuals and as a community.