Do you have a Big Enough WHY?

When I share with others that I'm training for a marathon, they inevitably ask, "how far do you run in a marathon?" The answer of course is 26.2 miles. Then they ask, 'Where is the marathon?" My answer this time is Washington D.C. and the Marine Corps Marathon.

The next question I get is "Why? Why would you run 26.2 miles voluntarily?!?"

Initially, I wanted to run because I wanted to lose my 'baby' weight after my second child, Ashlyn. However, for whatever reason, this goal alone didn't have a big enough 'WHY' attached. I was inconsistent and uncommitted. I'd run three days then miss a week, over and over again.

I knew I needed a worthier goal; a challenge that would cause me to dig deeper and commit more fully with greater attention and intention in order to succeed. I decided I needed to run a marathon. However, once again 'running a marathon' didn't have a big enough WHY to pull me into that place of lasting commitment. Again, I would run consistently for a few weeks then slack off. I was never going to get there unless I found my bigger WHY!

So, for my first marathon, I had to make my WHY bigger than just me alone. I joined Team in Training which raises money for the leukemia society. Now, I had to not only train and run 26.2 miles but along with my brother, Chance, who runs with me, we had to raise more than $10,000.00 dollars! I have a special place in my heart for TNT and the Leukemia Society. I lost my grandfather to this terrible disease long before I should have and I felt that if I can make a contribution that helps in finding the cure that saves someone else's grandfather, father, or loved one, THEN maybe, I had my big enough WHY!

Sure enough, this was the 'WHY' I needed. Chance and I ran the Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska last June and raised a significant amount of money for a worthy cause.

If you have a goal that you aren't able to fully and intentionally manifest, it may be that your WHY simply isn't big enough.

Let's look at how our WHYS affect us as a society:

We know that welfare doesn't work. Is it because most welfare
recipients WHYS aren't big enough to do anything different?
A welfare mother wants a better life but as it stands,
although she's not living any form of an easy life, at least
she doesn't HAVE to work her fingers to the bone for
'enough' to get by on. Additionally, she risks what she
does have if she finds a job that pays too much to continue
receiving assistance but not enough to live on her own.
Many do not have a big enough WHY to break out of the
system.

This same WHY-deficient apathy can be seen in certain subsets of our
veterans, our physically disabled, Native American communities, and in the trust-fund babies that were born with a silver spoon, for example.

If the WHY isn't big enough to choose to do something with our life, then we just don't. (This statement is not just about the above mentioned subsets but about all of us!)

What about the phenomena that happens to men who retire and
suddenly experience progressive illness and early death?
Research has shown that employees who retired at age 55 had
almost double the mortality risk of those who continued
working into their 60s. (-Shell Health Services study,
according to the report in the British Medical Journal,
published Oct. 2005) Could it be that suddenly their "WHY"
for living and staying healthy, their sense of purpose and
meaning is no longer valid? "

How many extraordinary, revolutionary changes have occurred because someone stood up for what was 'right', when their WHY got big enough? Was it their WHY that inspired the men and women who rallied to create the declaration of independence, the civil rights movement, or a woman's right to vote, for example?

What would happen if your WHY was big enough?

If your WHY was big enough, you would be inspired to not just visualize, wish, and hope for your dreams to come true, you would get out and take action to make them come true. You would follow that guidance that says, "Take a risk, now!"

You would find the courage to change career paths, read that book, learn a new skill, hire some help, take a class, or interview someone that's already doing what you want to do, if your WHY was big enough.

Relating to my own life and another time when my WHY wasn't big enough, I recall the shift that changed it all for me. When I first started my business, my son was only a few weeks old. I was living with my husband in a very bad relationship but I had my basic needs covered, not by me but because my husband was supporting me. I wanted to earn a living with my business but truth be told, I wasn't. It was only after I left my husband and declared that I would find a way to make this business successful even if it meant living in my car to do it, that I found the conviction to manifest success!

This is when my WHY got big enough. I wasn't able to focus my mind and body enough to create success until I removed my safety blanket. When I found myself faced with either choosing success or choosing to live out of my car with my newborn son and my dog, I shifted into a place of determination; a focused sense of purpose that nothing and no one could stop.

What would happen if you were forced to succeed because your WHY was big enough? What if you were told by a court of law (or an enforcement party), "you will lose your -loved one - (your children, your husband, your wife, your mother, your father, etc.) if you don't earn 1 Million dollars in 90 days?" Do you think you could do it?

In the book The One Minute Millionaire by Mark Victor Hansen and Robert Allen, this is exactly the test that the lead character goes through. She must earn 1 Million dollars in 90 days or lose her children forever. Suddenly, her WHY for creating success just got big enough to make her turn on her passionate fires of determination to move and and earth to MAKE IT HAPPEN!

In your life, where is your WHY big enough and where is your WHY not big enough?

Signs and Signals that your WHY isn't big enough:

• procrastination
• self-judgment
• embarrassment
• self-doubt
• indecisiveness
• confusion
• fear of making a mistake
• fear of failure
• apathy
• all talk but no action
• inconsistent action

When you can identify your BIG WHY and combine that with your intentional thoughts, you will create the success you really want.

When we combine a big enough WHY with a focused body/mind (our y'chi) we enact the laws of the Universe in ways that will literally part the seas for us!

For this marathon, my WHY is about seeing things through (something I need to work on); about personal, physical mastery (something that I want to make sure I'm walking my talk on), perseverance and finishing what I start (how can I ask you to do this, if I can't?). My WHY this time is that if I'm going to ask my clients to break down all obstacles to their success - then I better be able to do it for myself. I found my WHY again!

For you and your big goal, where is your WHY and if it's not big enough, courageously choose to make it bigger. The Universe always supports bold, courageous and faith-centered action. Trust in the Divine and follow your guidance.

Copyright, 2006: Anisa Aven, www.CreataVision.com, All Rights Reserved. For specific article reprint rights, please visit here.

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