Saving time: great idea, right?
Have you ever thought WHY you want to save time? I mean, REALLY ask WHY? To clarify, I’m not referring to “so I can fit more in” or “so I can be more efficient.” Are those good reasons? Well, they are not bad. But, when it comes to lasting change; truly enduring habits…your WHY needs to be pretty strong. In fact, a stronger and the deeper “why” correlates directly into your likelihood of success when looking to change habits.
To illustrate, Sue West and I have created a Podcast- Why Oh Why? We will show you two examples of a Shallower Why and a Deeper Why to get your “head in the game.”
Listen by clicking here: WHY do you want to save time? or read on.
Is this YOU?
I need to fit in:
- My parents
- My kids
- My husband
- My fitness
- My nutrition
- My business
….oh, and ME! What about ME?
….can you help me, Sue and Carol?
Sue: Of course! When we walk you through our W+W+W+H = Woo Hoo! Process, we start with WHAT gets in your way.
Then…we turn to WHY. This will often trip people up, because it’s often *not evident* what the why REALLY is. We THINK we know, but….then, we go a little deeper. The deeper we go, the more we contemplate and become totally honest with ourselves, the stronger our why. The stronger our why is, the higher our chance at truly Re-designing our days for Lasting Change.
Whew! What the heck does all that MEAN, anyway? Let’s look at a couple of examples, the shallow why and then a deeper why version.
Carol: So, back to our WHY conversation.
Sue and I will each provide an example of a Shallower Why and a Deeper Why. See if you can hear the Difference.
First, an Example of a more shallow why:
I want to redesign my day to become more productive, and sell more. When I sell more, I earn more. When I earn more, I will enjoy more business success and therefore be happier.
Now, and Example of a Deeper Why:
The money I earn allows me to fulfill my purpose in life. My purpose and passion is to live each day spreading light and love to those around me. I am uniquely skilled and gifted as a kitchen designer. I create beautiful and practical living spaces. But it’s more than that…I enhance people’s lives in the process. When a person lives in an environment that suits their needs and desires, he or she experiences peace and joy. A joyful, peaceful person thinks clearly. That person experiences inner calm and is better able to absorb the chaos life throws their way. That person may think “out of the box” and choose to turn a potential pitfall into an opportunity.
Therefore, I want to redesign my day to allow myself to serve my customers at my highest and best. When I do that, I will do my best work and it will improve not only MY life but the life of those I serve.
Do you hear the difference?
Sue:
So my example of the “first level” of WHY:
My client I’ll call Jennifer wanted support around time management to get more done at work, to deal with interruptions more effectively and some other frustrations around her productivity. She has AD/HD, Lyme disease and a few other issues.
And my same client, when we coached around what this was really about – the deeper or second level of WHY:
Her life feels too complicated, for the first time ever. Her friends have been saying for years she has too much on her plate, but she did not want to acknowledge what turns out to be quite true.
At mid-life she wants more time with her husband who is about to retire.
She wants to create more time to be with her daughter and grandchildren.
She has a very strong value and strength in traditions of family – our roots – and the desire to honor this, plus create future history with where she is today.
She’s a philanthropist with her “time and treasures,” as well them. She wants to make the world a better place because of all she is grateful for.
So the BIG question is “so what” or “why” … as you answer your WHY question, keep asking the “so what” or “why” question. Keep going until you hear the deeper ‘why’.
Carol:
In summary, although both the more shallow and the more deep why’s are both VALID, the deeper you go, the more likely you are to sticking to your new plan. When the going gets rough, it’s easier to remind yourself of a point that truly resonates with you- on a deep level.
Sue: If these struck a chord with you, we know you’ll get much more benefit from our Design Your Days workshop. Our next public workshop is coming right up- on Tuesday March 18 at 9 am at the Academy of Design and Decorating in Peterborough, NH. Register HERE. Early bird discounts are available before February 21 on a space available basis. Or you can check our FB page, Design Your Days, which will point you in the right direction.
In the next podcast we will move to the WANT question. What do you want more of, or less of? Be sure to listen and see how to get both of these! We will continue to move through the Design Your Days process. At the end of about 12 podcasts, you will look back and find that we’ve provided an excellent overview of our process.
CAROL:
If you cannot attend our March session, we offer the Design Your Days workshop to YOUR group of business owners, so please contact one of us for more information and to get us on your schedule.