Photo Credit: https://unsplash.com/photos/9O1oQ9SzQZQ
Author: Missy Tennant
Have you ever stopped to ask someone, “Why are you doing that?”
That “WHY” in what we do…it’s an important piece.
Do you know WHY you do what you do? WHY your company does what it does? What your personal mission is? What about your professional mission? And further…what is your greater purpose?
As a growing business, of course we want to be successful and profitable. But our “WHY” needs to go beyond the dollars and cents. Our “WHY” empowers and engages our employees, colleagues and customers to be the best that they can be. It helps define who we are, what we believe in and what we stand for. Sometimes our goal could simply be keeping the status quo because that is what is working. Sometimes it is making hard decisions to steer your personal or business ship in another direction that can re-define you and your company.
It is a very realistic possibility that one day you may wake up and have the conviction that something you are doing or not doing does not fall in line with who you are as a person or as a company. I have certainly had to make changes to my personal and business life as a result, and I will tell you that they are the most challenging and painful steps I have ever had to take. But ultimately in the end, those moments ended up being some of the most rewarding.
Never forget that not everyone will agree with what you are doing. When you are taking action based on your convictions and what you know to be the right thing to do, stand by them. Hold your line, even if you are on the firing line. When people are against you, it doesn’t mean you are making the wrong choice or doing the wrong thing. You never know when you are taking the stand that no one else has the courage to take, until that one person steps forward to join you. A lot of times the others that kept quiet in the beginning just needed a leader like you to be willing to show them the power of standing up.
Standing up for your convictions helps define your “WHY”. Once you do, you are on the right path.
Be brave. Be bold. Honor your convictions.