What is your why?

You’ve decided to bite the bullet and go back to study.

Perhaps it’s the first time for many years. Some of you might be back at study for the first time since you left high School. As a trainer and assessor, I’ve worked with many people in this situation, and I have seen a pattern that keeps emerging.

When people loose track of their ‘why’ they often struggle to find the energy to push through in their learning.

If you are truly learning new things, it is inevitable that you will outside your comfort zone, perhaps get stressed, feel frustrated and even angry. Knowing your ‘why’ can help you manage these feelings, however there is no one that can tell you your ‘why’.

So, what is your ‘why?

Take a moment and ask yourself, what is motivating me to do this study? For most of us motivation is usually connected to powerful feelings that are linked to pictures of the future we have and hope for.

Perhaps you want to make a difference in the world because you’ve been through tough times. Or you want a promotion, so you feel more secure financially. Maybe you want the qualification to validate all your years of experience…

Whatever your reason to do the study, it is vital that you stay emotionally connected to that reason.

It will not work if your answer the question, ‘why am I doing this study’, is ‘I was told I had to do it’. Feelings of being trapped or forced to do a thing will not build commitment or determination, however realising your own goals will!

All of us struggle at times, life happens, and things get in the way of the path we have chosen to walk. It will help if you are connected to the things that really motivate you even if you don’t feel like it, to embrace curiosity rather than the fear of failure and try rather than accepting despair.

Sometimes it helps to pause and reflect on what is my why?

Good luck.

Authored by

Mark Addison