What's your "why?"

“He who has a why can endure any how.” ~ Nietzsche

In customer service classes I facilitate at NYU, I ask participants why we bother to deliver excellent service. Students provide a variety of responses from, “Our customers pay tuition, which funds our salaries” to “to be of help to others.” I then ask them to pick from the list the reason that really means something to them; their own “why.” Because, I tell them, there will be days when delivering excellent service is difficult. On those days, they’ll need to “remember their why.” That concept has far greater application. What’s your why, for example, for having the job you have, for being a good parent, or for eating well?

In addition to remembering your why, you may, at times, need to reconnect with it. It’s one thing, for instance, to say “I work at NYU because of tuition reimbursement.” But, if you’ve never taken a course, or it’s been years since you have, you may need to sign up for one in order to feel connected to that why. If you exercise so that you can live longer to be with your family, are you making that family time now? Which of your “why’s” do you need to re-connect to?

All the best,

~ Sophie