We have heard about mission statements and purpose statements and life statements but what about a WHY statement. Do you know why you are doing what you are doing?
Have you ever felt like you knew what you needed to do and possibly even how to do those things but if someone asked you why you were doing those things, could you answer them? You may feel like you were sitting in your sailboat – rudder pointed in the right direction and feeling the wind in your hair but….no movement. Your sailboat feels stalled. You are frustrated and stuck.
Bringing this back to Way of Life Coaching for a moment – Why does Way of Life Coaching do what it’s doing?
Way of Life Coaching’s “Why” Statement:
To discover how to redirect your sails (Through the process of Clarity – Conviction – Courage) so that you will catch the wind (tune into God and the purpose He has for you) and move forward (Leading to Sustainable Change and Action).
Here at Way of Life Coaching we have been going through our own process of discovery. The above “WHY” Statement is the result of a process we have just begun. We needed to step back and remember why we were doing the things we were doing or were planning on doing. Our process came in four steps:
1 Listen
2 Learn
3 Take Action
4 Adjust
1 Step Back and Listen
Was what we understand to be true, really true? Was this understanding helpful? Was it in line with Scripture and what the Lord has been speaking to us about?
What were others saying to us? Did they know who we were and what we were all about? Could they look at our website or any other communication and know that they knew what we were all about? Was our message to them clear?
Was our vision too small? Did we lose sight of the big picture? Were we so focused on the whats and the hows that we lost sight of the whys? What has God put before us? Who was He asking us to be?
2 Learn How to Adjust our Sail
Once we heard what we needed to hear, what would be the next step? This would not be the time to jump fully into something new or in some new direction. This would be a time to check our sails. What position were they in? Were they positioned to catch the wind (the power and purpose of God)? What would happen if we made a slight change to the direction of our sail? Would we catch His wind? Would we catch too much wind – that would knock us over? Or could we make just a slight adjustment and then catch just the right amount of wind to move us slowly forward?
The clarity that comes from a small adjustment is actually quite huge. It is the difference between being stuck and moving forward. It could be everything.
We stop looking at what we do not need to be looking at – who we think we should be offering our services to – and instead remember that no matter who the Lord puts in front of us to coach our message will be the same. Our WHY Statement is for all who come into contact with us and our company. Our frustration is replaced with purpose.
3 Take Action in Small Steps
The key is here is to not go too fast. We still may need to make more adjustments and to make them slowly. We will purpose to learn God’s pace. We do not want to be blown over. We want to move forward at a steady pace. We will keep our actions connected to the WHY. We will remember our vision, our motivation and the WHY of what we are doing day in and day out.
4 Adjust as the Wind Changes
We will need to keep checking in with the Lord. Do we still feel the wind? Did the wind change direction? Is our sail still catching the wind? This will be an ongoing process that will continue for as long as we are in our sailboat – living this life the Lord has given us.
Are you looking for a change? Do you believe you or your business is ready to move forward? Would you like to learn more about going through this process? We believe that a life transformed – a life that knows WHY they are doing what they are doing- is a life that can not be stopped. It is a life of freedom and joy. It is life sailing on the open water. Will you join us?
(To learn more about this process, we call life coaching, please contact us here)