Discovering Your Why’s and Why Not’s

My freshman year at Mizzou, I started to realize I was doing things that detracted from my main purpose. In those moments, where it became so easy to go off track and make the wrong decisions, I started to understand that every goal and every action—good or bad—has a “Why” and a corresponding “Why not.”

Your “Why’s” are the things that motivate you to do better and inspire you to keep working hard, no matter how tough it gets.

For me, my family has always been my greatest source of why’s and why not’s. Whenever I’m tempted to do something I shouldn’t, I think about how much my brothers have sacrificed for me to be in this position, and it gives me the perspective I need to stay on the right track. Thinking of my brothers and my other family members helps me refocus, recharge, and work even harder the next day.

Your “Why Not’s” remind you of what’s at stake.  They’re the reasons you can’t afford to do the wrong thing.

Be Somebody’s Why

Things get so much easier when you’ve seen someone else do it, and I am determined to be the motivation for my younger family members and the generation to come. As the first member of my family to go to college, my “Why” for studying hard and graduating was to set a great example for the generation after me. I plan on going back to get my master’s degree, and the desire to inspire younger family members will be the ultimate motivation for the hard work involved in grad school.

Every situation has a “Why” and a “Why not.”  Find yours. Identify the things that are most important to you and use them as motivation for working harder and staying on the right track.