💭 Finding Your Why

One of the best books I’ve ever read is Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl. It’s a life-changing book about his experience in the Nazi concentration camp during World War II.

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In the book, Frankl brings up a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche:

The detailed accounts he shares about his experiences are both terrible and inspirational. You see both how evil and how resilient humanity can be. But by the time you finish, I guarantee you will be convinced that, with the right perspective, you can get through just about anything.

But what about the rest of the time?

Many of us will never know what it was really like to experience the things that Victor Frankl (and so many others) went through. But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from his life and example.

The truth is, things don’t have to be terrible for you to find your why.

This week on The Intentional Family podcast, my wife Rachel & I discussed this very topic. We talked about the importance of having a personal mission statement and the clarity and motivation it provides in saying “yes” to right things and “no” to the wrong ones.

(Interestingly, there was another book published not too long which included several of Victor Frankl’s essays translated into English titled Yes to Life.)

I call my version of a personal mission statement a LifeTheme. It’s a single sentence that encapsulates what your life is all about. It’s used to create motivation to follow through on the things that are important, and is a filtering mechanism for removing the things that aren’t.

There are 5 steps I have found helpful in crafting my own LifeTheme:

1. Identify your moments of impact. When have you felt most alive? These moments can give you clues to the things that you value that are bigger than life itself.
2. Think Bigger. We’re capable of more than we give ourselves credit for. What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? Even more importantly, what impact could you have on the lives of others?
3. Describe your ideal future. What does a day in the life of future you look like in vivid detail? The more you can see it, the more likely you are to actually create it.
4. Identify your core values. What are the things that are that are non-negotiable for you? And can you see how they are lived out in your ideal future?
5. Craft your LifeTheme. Condense all this down into a single sentence. Why are you here? What difference are you going to make? What legacy are you going to leave?

Here’s my LifeTheme as an example:

As you work on your LifeTheme, don’t be afraid to edit. It’s not set in stone. The important thing is that you get it down to a single sentence that you can use to filter things through so that you make consistent progress toward your ideal future.

Do you have a LifeTheme? If so, I’d love to hear what it is! Just reply to this email (I read every message) if you’re willing to share.

— Mike Schmitz

P.S. If you don’t have a LifeTheme and interested in working together on crafting it, I’m hosting a 5-week LifeTheme cohort in the Faith-Based Productivity community starting April 28th. I’d love to have you join us 🙂 You can find details and link to join here.