if your why isn't big enough your what will never happen

​It's that magical end of the year time. That time when we start looking into a new year, embracing the opportunity for a new beginning. The chance to be a new person. Trade old unhealthy habits and hangups in for healthier ones that fulfill us.

For some reason, this time of the year possibility seems more possible, change seems more changeable. As you enter into imagining these possibilities and changes, let me offer something I've learned the last several years through running.

Don't write down WHAT you want to do differently, first write down WHY you want to do it.

I used to hate running. That's because running used to be WHAT I had to do - and for the most part - WHAT others were doing that I completely avoided.

Then I started running and I discovered WHY I do it. There are days running is still a real chore for me, WHAT I'm doing isn't enjoyable and it's seemingly without value - a race with no finish line in sight. When that happens, I don't focus on fixing the WHAT, but I reflect intensely on the WHY I'm doing it.

In running, I have quiet. I have a space to hear God and feel like he can genuinely see through the noise in my life and gather in all that is often overwhelming me. In running I have health. I find the inspiration in running that fuels me to tackle every other area of my life - even as the inevitable daily obstacles rise up against me.

Next year I want to feel closer to God, be my healthiest self and have a daily and tangible reminder that obstacles in life can truly be run over on the way to the finish line. Those are my WHYS.

When my WHAT gets tiring and boring and seemingly getting me nowhere - I will remember my WHYS. I may lose some interest in WHAT I'm doing - but WHY - WHY I'm doing it is too much a part of who I am to lose interest in that.

So write down the why that's fueling your what. If you don't know why, don't do it. Move on. If your why isn't big enough your what will never happen.