“Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how’.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
It is extremely difficult to make changes in our lives, especially those related to our health. We all know what to do to be healthy – don’t smoke, eat a healthy diet, get sufficient sleep, move and exercise our bodies, keep stress levels low, moderate alcohol consumption – yet very few people engage in these healthy behaviors.
And it’s not that we aren’t trying. How many times have you tried to eat healthier? Go to the gym more often? Lose weight? Get to bed early enough for 8 hours of sleep? Eat less sugar? New Year’s resolutions, anyone? Chances are you’ve tried some of these things and they just haven’t stuck. It’s so easy to feel like a failure in the health space.
When we fail to make lasting change, it is easy to blame ourselves. Why didn’t I try harder? Why don’t I have more self-discipline? Maybe I don’t want it bad enough? And we repeat these negative thought patterns and end up with disappointing results.
There is a simple piece of the puzzle that so many miss. To make a change, and make that change last, it is absolutely imperative to tap into your “why.” Why is making this change so important to you? We often focus on being healthy as the ultimate goal, but wanting to be healthy, just to be healthy, is not enough.
The lack of connection to what gives life meaning and purpose is the simple reason is why so many people fail to accomplish goals and make sustainable change in their lives.
Try this exercise, called ‘The 5 Whys’, to help you identify your most important reason for wanting to make a change. This technique was developed by Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of the Toyota Motor Corporation in the 1930s and is still used at Toyota today to get at the root cause of a problem, whether it be an issue with manufacturing, production, or customer service, for example.
First start with your end goal. Then ask yourself ‘Why is this important to me?’ 5 times to get to your main motivator for making this change.
Here is an example:
Goal- I want to eliminate processed foods from my diet and replace them with real, whole foods.
#1 Why is this important to me? Because I want to have more energy.
#2 Why is this important to me? Because I want to start exercising.
#3 Why is this important to me? Because I want to be in better shape to be able to play with my children for hours without feeling tired and out of breath.
#4 Why is this important to me? Because I want to be an active part of my children’s lives.
#5 Why is this important to me? Because spending quality time with family is what I value most.
Here is another example, with the same goal, but with a totally different meaning.
Goal- I want to eliminate processed foods from my diet and replace them with real, whole foods.
#1 Why is this important to me? Because I want to my stomach to feel better.
#2 Why is this important to me? Because I want to be able to leave the house without worry.
#3 Why is this important to me? Because I want to have the confidence to live my life without worry.
#4 Why is this important to me? Because I want to be able to travel the world.
#5 Why is this important to me? Because freedom and adventure is what makes me feel most alive.
After you’ve identified your main motivator for change, how might you capture it to keep it at the forefront of your mind?
- Post-it on your bathroom mirror?
- Photo in your wallet?
- In a journal?
In order to make a health-related change and ensure it sticks, it’s important to regularly remind yourself how the change links to living your most meaningful life.