Discover Your Purpose: What is your ‘why?’

Your purpose or your "why" is the very core of your being, the driving force behind your actions.

It's the underlying reason why you do what you do, beyond the immediate goals or tasks at hand. If someone offered you more direction, motivation and resilience, would you take it? Hell yeah, you would! Well that’s exactly what knowing your ‘why’ does.

To quote the musical, Avenue Q, ‘Purpose, it's that little flame, that lights a fire under your ass. Purpose. It keeps you going strong, like a car with a full tank of gas.’

So, what is your why?

Don’t go all Miss Universe on me and quote ‘world peace’! if it is world peace, amazing! But this is all about being real with yourself, what is right there at the core of you? Is it to build a legacy, make a difference in the world, provide for your family? Whatever it is, there is no right of wrong, but, understanding your "why" is crucial for building a strategy for success.

An example of a ‘why’

I don't mind sharing that my 'why' is to build a life centred around my family whilst making a meaningful difference in the lives of others.

Layering on your values

Layered on top of your ‘why’ are your values. Your values are the core beliefs and principles that guide your decisions and actions. Interestingly, we often grow up with "imprinted" values. These imprints primarily come from those who raised us, but can also stem from role models, teachers, mentors, and other respected figures.

Additionally, some values are absorbed from the society and culture we live in. This includes influences from the media we consume, the communities we belong to, the places we live, our schools and workplaces, our friendships, and more. So when you are identifying your values it is important to work deep to identify whether they are genuinely your core values, or just imprinted.

Core values are the things that are truly important to you as an individual and shape how you personally see the world. They can influence your relationships, business choices, lifestyle, and overall well-being so it stands that without a clear view of them, your business strategy and personal goals won’t necessarily take you where you want to go, in the way that you want to get there! There are so many words to ‘pick from’ when it comes to values, but what really matters is that they are yours. There is no magic number, just find the ones that work for you.

Start by identifying your core values with these simple questions to get you thinking:

•⁠ ⁠What matters most to you? Consider honesty, integrity, compassion, creativity, etc.

•⁠ ⁠What principles guide your decisions? Think about your beliefs and what you stand for.

•⁠ ⁠How do you want to be remembered? What kind of legacy do you want to leave?

•⁠ ⁠What imprinted values do you have?

•⁠ ⁠Do you want to dial up, get rid of or keep any imprinted values?

•⁠ ⁠Look at areas which are important to you, what value underpins it? If friends, family are high on your importance is it love, connection?

So you know your why and your values, now what?

Now use them as your compass, everything that we do within the Ambitious Growth Model is about writing everything down and using it as your own blueprint.

Based on the information in this blog we have created a quick worksheet to help you find your core values. Fill out the form below to download your free guide.