Misdirection : Your ‘Why’ might be the obstacle

[Excerpt from Unachievable]

It’s fashionable in coaching circles to focus on the ‘Why?’ inside the want. The ‘Why?’ relates to a personal, driving motivation. The motivation might be through the roof, but it is a survival motivation. The attention is not on the project. It is on trying to secure an individual Identity that doesn’t actually exist.

It’s a great idea to expose these personal ‘Whys’. It is not a good idea to take them seriously, as though they are something that can ever be achieved. It is a much saner idea to see that these ‘Whys’ will either … Sabotage the want because the need for attention, approval in order to experience security will hinder the creativity and learning necessary to get anything off the ground;

or…

The wants will be achieved – we will write the book, throw the party, earn a £1 million salary, very possibly burning ourselves out or losing the things that really matter along the way – and the achievement will be absolutely hollow because it will not result in what we needed it to.

Your ‘Why?’ might, in fact, be the obstacle.