:Remember Why:
Simon Sinek, Start With Why and The Golden Circle Have Been Coming Up A Lot Lately
It’s true. It started with my Work Husband, Tyler. I feel like in our relationship, Tyler does a lot of the learning and then shares it with me. He does one and a half times the work toward self-improvement and gives me the extra half.
We spoke many months ago about The Golden Circle and how to apply the concept to our work. It seemed so intuitive but amazing that so many of us lose track of The Why in the things we do.
My new boss (Yes, I have a new job. We’ll talk about that another time.) also shared the concept with me. I won’t lie, I was kind of relieved I already knew what he was talking about. :D Thanks Work Husband!
It was interesting to me though, that both of these individuals who I regard as bright, focused and hard-working, brought up this concept to me within the span of months. I’m taking it as a sign.
To be clear, I have not yet consumed the whole program. It is next on my list. That said, having these two conversations has me consciously asking myself why about a lot.
After 12 years of anything, remembering why becomes an intentional effort. I’ve been writing on the internet about random things for a long time. When I stall out on posting, I have been asking myself why I still want to do it. My conclusion is always that it brings me joy. Because of my blog, I have had experiences that excite me and met people who delight me. But most of all, it’s become a bit of a memoir.
Documenting my life has helped keep my memories clear. Consider a trip I took to New York City for a work summit when I was pregnant. I remember I got sick in the cab on my way to the hotel, even thought I never got sick during my pregnancy. The cabbie was so gracious, as I puked into a plastic bag in his back seat. I think he especially appreciated that I took the bag with me. I remember what I wore because obviously I blogged about it. I remember that renovations to the hotel had just been completed and had fancy lights that I wasn’t quite sure how to use. I remember texting CJ while I snuggled in the hotel bed about the scenes I was watching in Ken Burns’ The Civil War and I remember how he would go on to tell me what would happen next. (CJ knows everything about the Civil War. It’s a weird adorable quirk.)
I remember how I felt. I was in my second trimester. I was in a city I adore. And I felt really good about life in that moment.
I’m thankful for those details that, knowing me, would have evaporated eventually. So when I wonder why I don’t just quit documenting random thoughts on this dumb web log, I remember that it connects me with interesting people, it opens doors I never would have found, and it quite simply makes me happy.
