8. Finding our pawpose

Define your purpose, find your why. We’ve heard it all before, right?

Though before you groan, roll your eyes, and tell me that this incredibly clichéd concept is exactly the type of chat you don't need in your life in 2021, it’s worth having a think about the following two questions:

1) Would you run into a burning house if you were offered £5 to do so?

Possibly yes, but probably not.

2) Would you run into a burning house if a family member was inside?

It might depend on the family member (lolz), but of course we probably would.

In the two scenarios, the task is exactly the same, however in one case we would do it, and in the other case we wouldn’t.

So, what's the difference?

Clearly, the reason to do so. I.e ‘the why’.

A similar(ish) kind of question, is it easier to go to the gym 4 months before a holiday, or 4 weeks?

We’d probably argue the latter. Again, because the reason to do so (actually being able to fit into our trunks) is more compelling.

All good stuff, but what’s the point of these rather obvious questions?

Basically, the point is: if there’s a strong enough reason to do something, we’ll do it.

As we enter New Year's resolutions territory, it feels that this could be a particularly pertinent point (if I do say so myself!)

When we jump into some sort of new task or challenge, do we usually take the time to genuinely consider why we’re actually doing it?

If we think about any unsuccessful endeavour we’ve ever undertaken (old New Year’s reso's are usually a good starting point!), and why it eventually petered out, it’s quite likely that it’s because the reasons to stick at it weren’t strong enough... our reasons to quit were stronger than our reasons to continue.

This idea is demonstrated in the Ancient Greek story of Sisyphus.

For his lies, trickery and deceit, Zeus sentences Sisyphus to an eternity of pushing a boulder up a hill. However, every time Sisyphus nears the top, the Gods ensure that the large rock simply rolls back down to the bottom.

Eventually, it's not the physical labour that defeats Sisyphus, it's the mental torture of toiling away at a meaningless task.

This tale resulted in the saying ‘Sisyphean task’ being coined, which is an activity to which there is seemingly no point. We’ve all done one of those before, great fun...

How often do we enthusiastically dive into a new venture, only for our motivation and commitment to dwindle after a couple of weeks?

As we fine tune our New Year's resolutions, 2021 goals, and all that good stuff, it may be worth us taking the time to fully consider why we’re undertaking whatever it is we’re about to, and developing genuinely meaningful reasons to do so.

And of course, 'genuinely meaningful' is probably a little deeper than just trying to look good on Instagram... even though, let's be honest, that's always a bit of a motivator!

To wrap up this post, let's lean on the wisdom of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who stated that “He who has a powerful why can bear almost any how”.

Nice. Basically, if we’ve got a compelling enough reason(s) to do something, and these reasons are stronger than our reasons to stop (and there’s always plenty of those!), then these can help carry us through the inevitable setbacks, lack of motivation, and give us a kick up the arse when needed.

And we all need one of those every once in a while.