I'm about two-hours into Simon Sinek's online course, Learn Your Why, and right off the bat there was a quote that I thought was worth sharing. Sinek says, and I'm paraphrasing, "You only have one why. Having more than one why is like having more than one captain on a ship. Which one do you listen to?"
This doesn't make me feel good. I don't like this notion of only having one why because committing to one why means saying no to all those other whys that are out there. That's the hard part. All the whys are great, surely! Right? But the course is telling me that I need to discover my one and only, and that I'll be better off for it. It's kind of irrational to have an aversion against saying no to a concept, isn't it? It's not like all those other whys are going to have hurt feelings. Already I'm learning.
But then I start to wonder, is choosing one of something a problem for me in other aspects of my life and if so, how come? If not, why is the thought of choosing one why so daunting? Anyone else out there 'yes junkies?'
Saying “NO” is exceedingly and abundantly more difficult for people with eclectic interests. For those who see value and purpose in all aspects of life, we desire to examine the details in order to appreciate the entirety. Choosing one, as you note, is rejecting many others. Still, success in one is more acceptable than mediocrity in many. Perhaps more specificity is needed in this dilemma. Is identifying your “why” permanent? I would suggest that we all have seasons and that our “why” changes or can change over time. If you discover your one and only “why” in the present and focus on that, then you are free to achieve greatness and can be “better off for it.” To be sure, do not fret that you have missed the beauty of many other “whys”. At another time, those “whys” that have been stored on the shelf may later become your subsequent defining chapter.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really thoughtful comment, Adam. Thank you for taking the time to write! It seems like you can empathize with me in regards to having a variety of delights and also the pains of having to deny any of them, even if only temporarily. However, I like the notion of having one why at a time and also knowing that they why I have today can/will evolve into a different why down the road once I achieve whatever greatness I define for myself. That feels good and less threatening. There's still a lot of possibilities out there, and I'm not saying No to them permanently, I'm just delaying them for a while so I can give them the undivided attention they deserve.
DeleteI'm all for trying one why at a time. but definitely not one why for all time. not a thing for me. too limiting. gives me agita just thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteLOL I'm glad it's not just me!
Delete