Well guys, it happened.
Yesterday was the day I officially told a complete stranger about my blog in-person. This blog.
It’s not that I’m ashamed of the fact that I’m a blogger. It’s quite the opposite actually! It just was a topic that never naturally entered a conversation with a stranger before, so I had yet to bring it up. That all changed yesterday though and it felt pretty exhilarating!
I’ve been going to the dentist a lot lately to get some ongoing issues fixed, and yesterday was one of those appointments. My dentist, the dental hygienist, and I were briefly talking about how I am self-employed working from home with my freelance business and how it’s awesome that I get to be a stay-at-home Mom and have a fulfilling career too.
As the Dental Hygienist was walking me out, she said something that simultaneously broke my heart and made me excited all at once. She said she just had a baby a month ago and would really love to be able to find work that would allow her to be a stay-at-home Mom while earning some money too. Real legitimate and honest money, not the “work from home” scams that ask you to pay a start-up fee before getting involved with their companies <– it disgusts me that those even exist.
Of course my Mama heart immediately broke for her. I sometimes forget how blessed I really am to be able to stay at home with Little Miss and have a career that I love too. And then the excitement kicked in as she asked me more about the freelance marketing & writing I do, and if I had any tips for her, as she would like to start going down that path as well.
I don’t think it’s any secret that I love sharing my advice and tips with others who want to become self-employed, for whatever their reasons may be. I started telling her about places to look for freelance work, and then eventually ended up sharing Embracing Simple with her since I have a lot of self-employment tips that I share on here.
It was one of those moments that I didn’t fully comprehend until after I had already walked out of the building into my car, but I was on cloud nine the rest of the day.
You know why?
I adore talking about self-employment.
I thrive when I get to help others follow their passions and pursue their dreams. And most of all, I have a soft spot for Mamas who want to be able to stay at home with their babies.
That conversation made my heart happy, and reminded me exactly why I do what I do in this space. I started Embracing Simple because I am passionate about helping others to live well. I love simplifying, talking about avenues to earn an honest income working from home, and sharing ways to create a life that you are absolutely 100% in love with.
Sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of “why” you do the things that you do. I think the why behind our actions is so important to remember and I just wanted to talk about it a little bit today since I felt like I had such a revelation yesterday.
Why Finding Your “WHY” is Important:
1. It motivates you and gives you purpose
Knowing why you do what you do is crucial. Otherwise we would all just be aimlessly wandering about without any real sense of purpose or end goals in mind.
2. It helps you in decision making
When your “why” is kept at the forefront of all that you do, making decisions becomes a lot easier. It helps you to remember your values so that when it comes time to make decisions, you are doing what’s best for you.
3. It drives you when times get tough
It can be easy to lose sight of why we work so hard to try to make our dreams happen if we don’t keep the “why” in mind as we go through those tough times. If you’re having a bad day or feel like you’ve lost your sense of purpose in doing what you do, keep reminding yourself of why you got started in the first place.
So my friends, this is my challenge for you this weekend:
Take the time to ask yourself “WHY?”.
For example:
- Why do you do what you do for a living?
- Why do you have the lifestyle that you currently live?
- Why are you a stay-at-home parent?
- Why do you wake up every day and do the things that you do?
Asking yourself this might actually reveal that you don’t have a why. And that’s okay. It just means that you have given yourself an opportunity to reevaluate your goals a bit and perhaps create a plan of action to live more purposefully and become more fulfilled by the things that you do.
If you do find yourself being able to pinpoint your “why”s, I encourage you to try to keep them at the back of your mind. Especially on days that you need extra motivation to keep on keepin’ on!
And Toni – if you’re reading this, thank you for reminding me of my own “why” yesterday 🙂
Why do you do what do you? Share your “why” and what motivates you in your daily life below!
You are right on target about the importance of your why. This is true not only in business, but in life. You can not reach a goal unless you know your why. If that why is always clear to you, then each step you take brings you closer to your goal. My goal is to travel indefinitely and to live simply. Thank you for sharing. Linda
Absolutely Linda, it applies to all facets of life. Thanks for sharing, it sounds like you are living true to the life you want to have! 🙂
I love this post! I’ve been doing A LOT of thinking about this recently. Probably too much ha. But it’s always important to keep that in the back of your mind. And make some changes if you end up realizing you have no idea why you’re doing something. And give yourself some slack on some off days when you know you’re “why” is in the right place.
Agreed Alex! Definitely important to cut yourself a break on those days.
I’ve discovered 9and refer back to) my “why” as it relates to my goal of financial freedom. I’m currently struggling with they “why” about my current employment and the “why not” do something different?
I will be asking myself the above questions this weekend as I begin self reflecting to prepare for the upcoming year and the goals I would like to accomplish.
Great Post!
That’s great that you took some time for reflection this weekend Shirria! How did it go? 🙂
I would say my “why” for pursuing better finances is the prospect of not having to worry so much about money. For example, it would be great to be in a position where if I lost my job today I wouldn’t be stressed out because I have enough side income and/or passive income that I have enough to live off of. That and the prospect of being able to work on things I want to work on are my motivating “why” factors.
Agreed DC! That is my “why” for pursuing financial freedom too.
My kids are definitely my why. I love that I am able to stay home with them and help provide for the family. Getting to have a fulfilling career and be a mom is such a blessing.
Love it Kristi! 🙂
Oh my, This speaks to my heart <3 <3 <3 You are awesome!! Thank you for this inspiration. I kind of feel like I'm starting over with my "why" since FinCon haha. That conference was very eye-opening!!!
Aw thanks lady! 🙂 I want to hear more about FinCon and what you learned!!
I’ve been stuck on “why do you have the lifestyle that you currently live” lately. I don’t know how or why that came bubbling up, but it’s been in the forefront of my thinking for the past few months. I’m hoping to have an answer soon. In the meantime, I always love how generous you are with your readers and I hope that Toni gets her heart’s desire. She sounds like she’s definitely ready to do what she has to do to achieve it. 🙂
Thank you Kay! I sure hope she does too, and I hope you get the answers you are looking for 🙂
You are so right, finding your “why” should be central for every blogger. And not only for bloggers, but in any business. No work/job is fun if you don’t enjoy it. Money shouldn’t be the first reason, it has to be deeper, much deeper. I personally need time and location freedom, because we live both in Europe and in the US. No matter where I am, I can always work online. Time and location freedom gives me the ability to spend quality time with my family and friends. Another thing I see is the value my clients receive and how it really does make a difference.
Agreed Reelika. It goes beyond business in general too, I think it can apply to pretty much anything in life 🙂
Great post Christina,
I agree with your points here. In business, every little thing matters a lot and one of the things that we usually play with is figuring out the main reason why we’re doing what we’re doing.
Its really very important to find out your WHY because as you mentioned, knowing this will always help to put you back on track when the going seems tough.
I appreciate everything you share with us. More than you know! I am excited to receive your newsletter which I just subscribed to with my new e-mail address which I previously (maybe) unsubscribed too! Um, never ever combine work and personal e-mails NO MATTER WHAT, even if you’ve had 15 years of employment! Haha.
Aw thank you Mrs. Crackin! Haha I am guilty of having all of my emails routed into one inbox. It’s the only way I can somewhat stay on top of them (I have 10-15 different ones for personal, blogging, business, and then several that some of my clients have given me as well). But I definitely don’t blame you!!
Christina? I haven’t been able to find my “Why” ever and so I’m just rotting. I am what I love, not what loves me. That’s a new idea that I had never heard of until recently. The idea is from Kyle Cease. You can find him on FB. I have Bipolar Disorder and have filed for Disability because working is too overwhelming right now. Where do I find my “Why”?
Thanks for your time.
Aw Erin, I’m so sorry to hear you’re going through such a difficult time right now. I’m sending healing vibes your way that you find some sunshine in your life soon! I would try to keep yourself busy and try new things that bring you out of your comfort zone a bit. Perhaps doing so will help you to find what you truly love to do and will be a great oasis for you to pour yourself into and get huge fulfillment and joy from 🙂