Do you know your why?

This morning I had a session with a new coach. I say ‘new’ because she’s new to me, but she’s been doing what she does for some years.  Younger than I am but a very inspirational lady, who founded a school in Zimbabwe and coaches other women about their roles in life and their businesses.  She challenged me to think about my ‘why?’.  Why I’m still doing what I do and had my ‘why?’ changed from all those years ago.

Twenty years ago my ‘why?’ was simply to be home full time for our five growing daughters.  One had just begun high school and no longer eligible for after school care. The other four were in primary school. We didn’t want our eldest home alone so had pulled the others out of ‘after school care’ so they could be home together. But ringing home every night, while in a corporate job, wasn’t sufficient to ensure they were getting the parenting care they needed. For practical reasons it was much easier for me to set up business at home, with a computer and printer, than it was for my husband to leave his corporate role.  I only ever thought it would last for five or six years and I’d return to the corporate world once our girls no longer needed me at home. But the internet changed the business world a short time later and I’m still home working.

As the girls grew up, it was no longer just for them, but also for the many others who had joined me in business, needing support and encouragement and someone to help guide them.  And I found that my story became one that motivated many other women, wherever I was physically, or online, to take up the cause of their own families and to be there for them.

While technology was meant to make our lives easier I do believe it has made our lives considerably busier. So many don’t appear to have the time to do simple things, like enjoy their gardens, play with their kids, read stories, or just phleg out for the sake of it. So many of us have become hyperactive in our daily activities, even if we are working at home. So revisiting our ‘why?’ is an important thing to do because it can change over time. And it can get hidden or drowned by everything that is happening around us. Resulting in a loss of passion or drive.

While my daughters no longer live at home and have need of me here, I now have grandchildren that I delight to see on a weekly basis and daughters who still need their mum from time to time. One doesn’t have a car during the week so mum is able to take a trip to visit when she needs to take one of her sons to the doctors, or even if it’s just grandparents day at kinder. Another I’ve dropped in on when she’s been home unwell, knowing she just needs some TLC and support. And I find I often spend time on the phone or writing emails to encourage women who want to do the same thing but are nervous about starting a business of their own. Will it work? They so much want to be there for their children, just as I have been over the years for mine.  Has my ‘why?’ changed? Yes, it has.  But it’s still very much connected to the original one, relating to my family and also to the families of others.  Do you know your ‘why?’