Find your Why
Last updated
Last updated
What is the aim of the exercise?
The goal of this exercise is to gain awareness about your reason for being and the contribution you would like to make to the world.
In what context is this exercise useful?
This exercise is tailored to individuals that wishes to be more conscious about his/her deeper self, aspirations and what is driving you in life.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Online / Onsite: Both
Workshop time: 1 hour
Ideal group size: Can easily accommodate up to 50 people
Contact of Workshop Developer:
Leuridan Vladimir Leuridan.vladimi@gmail.com
Equipment and tools needed:
Paper
Pen
Music
Board or slides/miro/chat to expose instructions
Facilitator needs this guide
Online or Onsite Room to run the session
Activity & Format
Time
Instructions
Facilitation Notes
Check-in and Session Introduction
10 min
Introduction of facilitators and participants if needed
Present today’s topic and agenda
Check-in on participants mood, expectations, or other. You can suggest a check-in question as “In one sentence, how are you arriving today?”
Start with answering the check-in question by yourself and then hand the word over to someone else, allowing everyone to share. Nice start for hearing all the voices in the room.
Topic introduction
5 min
Start creating the space for the reflections and conversations of today: you can highlight that many people are not necessarily used to creating space for reflection and personal development. Ask the audience to think when was the last time you took time to reflect about your life? Comment about the importance of these reflections for leadership, happiness and to create a positive impact in the world.
Introduce the topic of Why statement: explain that the topic was developed by Simon Sinek who is a recognized coach among the community and brought up the theory of the Golden Circle.
Make the point that starting with your why is a very powerful way of inducing movement in your life and act upon purpose.
Explain that today we will use one exercise to find your personal why statement.
Check Simon Sinek and his Theory of the Golden Circle.
Learn about Why Statements.
Explaining the exercise instructions
5min
Ask them to get a paper and a pen.
Present 2 suggestions of how a why statement is written with examples:
Suggestion 1 - I want to {your contribution} so that {impact statement}
o Example: to empower and educate everyone so that they can improve their lives and achieve their goals.
o To inspire people to do the things that inspire them so that, together, we can change our world.
Suggestion 2 - I am the {metaphor} so that people {impact statement}
o Example: I am the magician/ lighthouse/ dynamite/ alarm clock that...
o Example:I am the lighthouse that guides people to their dreams; I am the dynamite that transforms people’s lives.
oThe metaphor can also be an action: I wake people up/ I explode the lies/ I uncover the inner truth/ I call people home
Tell them this can also take the shape of a piece of music... Call their creativity!
Explain the attention points of the why statement. Those are the last important notes before giving them the necessary space to embark in their personal reflection:
o Remind them they are only about to start this journey into their why statement, therefore they won’t necessarily find the exact wording in the given amount of time.
o The idea is only to find something on which they can start working with for the next months, not a final statement.
o The why statement should be as specific as to differentiate whether they are on purpose or not when making a decision – apply for a job, choose between different holidays etc.
o A why statement can be flowery, grandiose, corny – they are only there to help! - It can be something that won’t necessarily be achieved in a lifetime! It should only give you the motivation and power to act in the next few years.
Ask if they have any doubts before starting their individual reflections.
Invite participants to take a space in the room where they feel comfortable.
Better to do the exercise in silence so they can understand what the facilitator is saying.
You can write the 2 suggestions in a board (if onsite) or in a slide/miro/chat (if online) for a better visualization while you explain. Make it beautiful!
Individual reflection time
20 min
Instruct them to reflect and do the exercise individually in silence. Remember to share the time they have for doing it.
Better to do the exercise in silence and have soft, instrumental and inspirational music playing in the background.
This step can last from 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the facilitator. You can ask how the group is doing after some time and ask if they need more time. To me the longer the better as it is a very privileged moment to be with oneself and it generally takes a bit of time to get into the right mood.
Break
5 min
Give them a break to have water, stretch, go to the bathroom and to prepare for the group discussion or presentations (if you chosen this facilitation option).
Group debrief/Plenary discussion
10 min
Gather participants back, and facilitate the discussion into the feeling/ sharing/ impression of the participant journey.
You can first ask them how they feel about their reflection time; what were the insights and then ask people who feel comfortable to share their why statements.
Don’t forget at the end to ask what were the key take-aways from the session.
Another option if the group is small or if you have time enough is to ask everyone to share their why statements in front of the group. This can be a powerful activity of ownership of your why. Make sure to share during the instructions that they will have to share with the group at the end. So they are prepared.
Check-out
5 min
Provide logistical info about next planned workshop (if any) or any necessary announcement
Check-out suggestion if small group: Get each person to say what they are leaving with from this session.
Thanking people for joining and closing the session.
You can provide a document or in your preferred way the opportunity for them to provide feedback from this session.
Check beforehand Simon Sinek’s Theory of the Golden Circle.
In my view it is not necessary to take more than 5minutes to go around the theory nor to show the multitude of videos that explain the theory – check out Youtube – because videos available focus on the corporate aspect – vs the individual aspect - of the Why statement. It can of course be wise to watch them for yourself as some examples may be used to display during the session.
Keep in mind it might be the 1st time participants think about their purpose in life and that it is already an advanced exercise. Prepare yourself beforehand by for example meditating and being ready to give all your love & empathy. Focus on the present moment, speak slowly and clearly, breathe a lot and smile.
Also try to make it personal and explain how it helped you down the road!
There is the website startwithwhy.com that gives you some material. Personally I watched the video on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA&t=656s. Half the video is enough to remind you.
