How, What & WHY?

Happy Holiday Season as we come out of the American Thanksgiving food coma and move into a very busy time of year!

You know I am all about the “WHY”. I try to come at “why” from many directions, for many reasons, to create clarity and focus and to re-create what I do and how I do it!

If you haven’t read Simon Sinek’s books “Start With Why” and “Find Your Why”, I suggest you start there. They have become two staples on my bedside table right now in the nonfiction category!

So often, we, as creatives, are about the DO-ing that we forget about the WHY are we doing? We are asked “what do you want to DO?”

The answers can be general to the specific. From a “want” to an actual place (like Broadway or The Met perhaps?). And yet, what do we know about that “want”? What do we actually know about that “place”?

Perhaps the “want” holds something deeper than we realize. And it all comes back to “why”?

Why do you want to sing? Why do you want to perform? Why would you want to be on Broadway or at The Met?

And then, as you begin to riddle that out, go even deeper, into the “why do I?” “why am I?”

I am still figuring that out. I am pursuing, or perhaps more accurately, being still and non-pursuing those answers, in order to become more aligned with the how and the what.

Our craft, as artists and as performers, is ACTION oriented. It is BEHAVIOR oriented. We often are so focused on that action - on the WHAT in order to figure out HOW - that we forget WHY we are doing, in the first place.

It’s a fascinating re-balancing. No, perhaps it’s not for everybody to access things this way. However, if “what” or “how” isn’t working for you, why not try “why”?

I am discovering that coming back to “why” allows me to rediscover the motivation that can access many different aspects and facets of what I do. The “why” can allow you to BE. It can allow you then figure out HOW more authentically, in behavior and in WHERE. And, heaven forbid, it can allow you access WHAT you are doing, or perhaps WHAT you haven’t even thought of before!

I have more questions than answers. I always do. I just know my “why”? has become larger and more exciting than I ever thought possible. It doesn’t even have to do with what you DO. It’s a fascinating question. So many ways we can explore it, discover it, unearth it, and truly claim it.

So, at this busiest time of year, what’s your why? I dare you to come along with me on this journey! Find moments to be still, to work it from the outside in, to figure out why you do what you do, how you do it. Is it working for you? Is it frustrating you? Is it time to re-discover and return to “why”?

When asking “why”, does this frighten you? Aggravate you? Freak you out? Does it feel lost? Do you feel like all you have is “I don’t know”?

Welcome to the club. Me too. It’s beyond “why I do what I do” - it’s beyond and deep. It demands a stillness to listen for answer. “I don’t know” is an answer. It’s a place to start, and a reason to find out. To find out WHY!

We’re in this together. Take a breath, stay with the breath, and find out what MOVES you, so you can authentically and truly step into your WHY!