Why Our Past is Our Power

I hear Simon Sinek's voice ghosting from the closet, telling me I have to unwrap the box to find my WHY. It may be out of fashion, but our past is our power if we choose to view it that way.

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Why Our Past is Our Power

According to the oracle of inspiration, Simon Sinek, our purpose, a.k.a. our "WHY", is to be found in our past (see Start With Why, bottom of p.214). This is unfortunate since we're supposed to be mindful and live in the present.

If you ask me, mindfulness should have come along a lot sooner. Heck, why waste all that money on therapy dredging up the past when you can just settle in, exhale, focus on now, and let it all go? Meditation is nothing if not efficient! Twenty minutes a day and you're good. But what of all that crapola from back-in-the day? Mine is carefully sorted, Kondo folded, and packed in a Cole Hahn shoe box on the top shelf of my closet. The good and the bad are all in the same box. I wrapped it with a black satin bow for good measure and exhaled audibly as the closet door latched. "Been there done that. Over it! I know where it is if I feel the need to look at it." Now where was I? Ommmm...

And then I hear Simon Sinek's voice ghosting from the closet, telling me I have to unwrap the box to find my WHY.

It may be out of fashion, but our past is our power if we choose to view it that way. Whatever we had and didn't have, whatever we needed or longed for, the dreams, comforts and wounds of our growing up are the ecstatic elements that forged our core selves. And that core is molten. It's hot with our deepest passions, desires, fears and beliefs. It is the epicenter of our big WHY. WHY we do what we do, WHY we love who we love, WHY we say and don't say how we feel about the things that matter most to us. For anyone seeking to lead, it is imperative to be connected to our past because therein rests our most deep-seated power to inspire. Our history holds the hot whispers of our WHY.

As you can tell, I'm in search of a deeper understanding of my WHY. In case you're on a similar search, here are some questions worth contemplating:

What broke your heart as a child?

What did you learn from your broken heart?

What are you saying that is not being heard?

What is being said that you are not hearing?

What matters to you more than anything?

Offered with love,

Barbara

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