The idea I keep hearing about
Whether I’m reading about how to learn a new language, or listening to a podcast on creative careers, I keep hearing the same idea. In order to stick with your goals, maintain motivation and find fulfilment, ‘Find your why’ is the way to start. But why does ‘why’ matter so much?
Google ‘find your why’ and immediately a million results from Simon Sinek turn up. You might have heard of him, or seen his bespectacled face on your Facebook feed. He went viral in 2017 about why millennials are disappointments in the workplace. Personally, I’m deeply skeptical of Sinek and don’t find his ideas particularly revolutionary because I’ve heard them before (and done better) from other people. However, if what he says works for you, that’s great.
Before Sinek went viral about millennials, he went viral with his Ted talk about leadership and his concept of the Golden Circle. While I don’t particularly vibe with what Sinek has to say or how he says it, I will give him this – he knows how to communicate an idea (he is an ex ad-man after all). The Golden Circle works this way – start with a small circle called ‘What’, draw a bigger circle around it called ‘How’ and finally draw a larger circle around them both called ‘Why.’ The crux of Sinek’s sales pitch is that many of us know what we do and how we do it, but not why we do it.
But why is knowing your ‘why’ so important?
At the end of last year I decided to pursue my dream of becoming a polyglot (someone who speaks multiple languages). While researching language learning tips and tricks from existing polyglots, the idea of ‘starting with why’ came up over and over again. Learning a new language can be difficult and frustrating, with many hurdles along the way. It’s something you have to keep chipping away at, building your speaking confidence as you go. Identifying why you want to learn a particular language is often the first step in your journey. It keeps you engaged and helps you figure out what you should prioritise learning. For example, if your goal is to be fluent within 3 months, then learning how to read and write the language isn’t so important. Knowing your why in this instance keeps you focused and motivated in pursuing your dream.
A few weeks ago I impulsively decided to announce I was going full-time freelance illustration without a paid project in sight. Out of something too close to desperation, I threw myself into learning about how to build a creative career, develop a style, and push past periods of demotivation. Listening to an episode of Creative Pep Talk by Andy J Pizza, the question of why came up again. Andy talked about how do you find your creative gift or what you’re really good at, which is tricky for a lot of creative folk. I know I’d been struggling with not just outright copying other illustrators in my pursuit to develop a ‘style.’ Did I like bold colours or muted palettes, strong geometric shapes or something more amorphous, controlled lines or fuzzy and expressive? I had no idea what to draw or how to draw it.
This is where the power of identifying your ‘why’ really lies. It offers you a starting point and a direction for where to go next. As an illustrator, I didn’t know what to draw or the style to draw it in. Andy encouraged listeners to ‘find your why’ first – Why do you want to create? What do you love about other illustration? What does the illustration you love do for you (make you want to weep, laugh, smile?) and do you want to evoke the same or similar reactions in your own work? Maybe trying to achieve that feeling or reaction is your why. Maybe you want to show people something beautiful or grungy, and that’s your why.
Finding your why is really about finding your motivation for doing what you do. Once you have that, it makes it far easier to figure the rest out. At least you have a starting point.
For me, I figured out that I really like communicating ideas. It’s why I write, it’s why I draw, and it’s kind of why I want to learn other languages. Geez, I literally just figured that out as I wrote that… I love that feeling of connection, and knowing this, it can help guide my work going forward. I’m always pursuing that goal of how do I connect with others, what’s engaging and fun and informative? There’s obviously a lot more that I need to figure out, but what I like about the idea of finding your why is that, while what you do or love might change, why you do it probably won’t. It’s nice to know that I can always come back to this.
Is ‘start with why’ a concept you’re familiar with? I’d love to hear if you’ve done this yourself and how it’s going so far.
