Oh Why? Oh why? Why do we do the things we do? Why do we choose to do them differently sometimes? Why are we successful…or not?
This week’s podcast focuses on the WHY of the What, Why, Wants, and How. WHY would you want to redesign your day? Listen here: Why might I want to Design My Day differently? or read on.
Carol: Why. It’s a child’s question. It’s a question we hear less and less as we age. Yet, it’s so important. And often overlooked.
Sue: That’s so true, Carol. Why are we talking about WHY? What does WHY have to do with Designing Our Days? Such an important question to be summed up in 8 minutes or less!
Carol: Hi, this is Carol Williams, productivity coach at EpS, Efficient Productivity Systems.
Sue: And this is Sue West, AD/HD and life management coach
We have joined together as the Design Your Days Duo for this series of audio interviews to give you short, “use today” pieces of advice, in 5 to 8 minutes. If you like this podcast, please LIKE our Facebook page for tips on your newsfeed several times a week.
Carol: As you may know, Sue and I take participants in our Design Your Days workshops through our unique process of What, Why, Wants and How. Today we’re going to focus on WHY – *Why* do you want to design your day differently? This is the most important, and often the most difficult, question we can ask ourselves. The answer is often buried inside quite deeply. Answering honestly requires a true understanding, and often new discoveries, about you.
We’ve chosen two of the most common answers we hear to the Why question, and we’ll offer strategies for effectively addressing those WHYs
Sue: “Why” is your deep down, soul searched answer to the question of why you want to change what you’re getting out of your days. Seize the day. Live life more fully than you do today.
Practically speaking, “Why” is important because it’s where you will find your inspiration and motivation. On this journey, “Why” helps you get going, know where you’re going and when you hit bumps in the road – which we always do, right? – then your own “why” is how you’ll stay on course THIS time. This time, which WILL be different.
For example, I work often with women at mid-life. She is handling some level of caregiving for parents, spouse or partner, child or sibling. She may have children college age or beyond. She often owns a business, though with all she handles, it’s been on the back burner for awhile.
What I hear is “I want more from my life. It feels too big, or too difficult to manage, and not filled with what I want.” Some of our work is figuring out what matters, why she wants more, what her most important values are and what she might consider changing. Examples: volunteer work to give back and make a difference, connect to people in community, spirituality, more creativity, or a business that leaves her mark.
Carol: Recently one of our Design Your Days workshop participants was telling me that she has been finding it difficult to incorporate exercise into her day. She has her own business and has two small children at home. Now that they are both in school, why can’t she seem to fit this in? She has all the magazines; she loves fitness. What was getting in her way?
We talked for a while and began the process of discovery. What we found surprised us both. She did not exercise so she could “fit in” to her community. That’s right. She was unintentionally subscribing to the “misery loves company” mantra. As an extrovert, she loves to relate with others. Many other moms “complain” about “not having enough time to….(fill in the blank). What we came to find, together, is that this DYD workshop participant valued Fitting In and Commiserating more than she valued herself and her own priorities.
The great news is…once she realized this, she removed the Debby Downers from her life. She decided that she was “worth it”. Simply coming to the understanding that she was being subconsciously pulled into the “no exercise so we can complain together” zone allowed her to break free of this.
And she walks every day now. She does yoga. She is happier. Her husband is happier. Her life is better.
Sue: To wrap up, we just provided two examples of WHY you would want to Design Your Days differently tomorrow that you do today. If these struck a chord with you, we know you’ll get much more benefit from our Design Your Days workshop on Friday Jan 31 at 9 am at the Center of Health Promotion in concord, here: https://reg.abcsignup.com/view/view_month.aspx?as=53&wp=227&ss=
OR Register by calling them at 603.230.1121. Or you can check our FB page: https://www.facebook.com/DesignYourDays
In the next podcast we will continue on with this critical WHY question. 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.