Show Transcript

0:00:01 - (Kevin Lowe): In the busyness of a life, when was the last time that you stopped? And you ask yourself, why am I doing this? I'm talking about the everyday stuff. Maybe it's your work. Maybe it's the people you hang out with, the stuff that you do after work, the stuff that you do first thing in the morning. The question is simple, why am I doing this? Today we are diving into this simple yet truly powerful question of, why am I doing this?

0:00:32 - (Kevin Lowe): By the end? Well, I hope you're going to come away with maybe a little bit more clarity, a little bit more understanding of why you are doing what you are doing. And ultimately, maybe it makes you realize that there's some things that maybe you need to stop doing or that you can just simply let go and not have to worry about anymore. That's all inside of today's episode. We're packing a lot into this one, and I am excited to have you here with me today.

0:01:03 - (Kevin Lowe): So, my friend, I welcome you. It's episode 319. Yo.

0:01:10 - (B): Are you ready to flip the script on life? Cause those bad days, they're just doors to better days. And that's exactly what we do here at grit, grace and inspiration. Your host, Kevin Lowe, he's been flipping the script on his own life, turning over 20 years of being completely blind into straight up inspiration, motivation and encouragement just for you. So kick back, relax, and let me introduce you to your host, Kevin Lowe.

0:01:36 - (Kevin Lowe): What's up, my friend? I am excited to have you here again today as we are doing a follow up episode to my interview with Bashoi Tadros. If you did not get a chance to hear his amazing interview, definitely be sure that you go back and listen to it, because Bashoi, he's one awesome guy. And I took just one little piece of his story and turned it into today's episode because I thought it was so powerful.

0:02:09 - (Kevin Lowe): And it was the question, why am I doing this? Now, what's powerful about this is that at the time that Bashoi asked himself this question, he was on mile 40 of the cycling portion of triathlon. He had nothing left in him. He was totally done. And he was literally at his breaking point. And he asked himself for the first time ever, why am I doing this? That question, his answer is what propelled him to the finish line.

0:02:44 - (Kevin Lowe): And I believe the same question, your answer is going to propel you to your own finish line. Now, the reason this whole idea is so important of stopping to ask ourselves why is because we fall into the trap of just being on autopilot. When you drove to work today, yesterday, did you even really think about it, or was it like the car honestly kind of drove itself? You were tired. You didn't really want to go to work in the first place.

0:03:18 - (Kevin Lowe): And it seemed like the car just kind of drove there on its own. Have you ever had that experience, gotten to a destination and thought, oh, my gosh, how did I even just get here? It's on autopilot. And I feel like so many times, if we're not careful, we can get stuck in autopilot. In our life, each and every day looks the same. We go through the routines. We check off the boxes. We do the things that are on the to do list.

0:03:46 - (Kevin Lowe): We do the things that need to be done. We go to bed, we wake up, and we repeat. And maybe at some points in life, that's cool, but sometimes we need to stop. We need to take a pause, and we need to reflect on the situation with today's powerful question of, why am I doing this? I'm talking about questioning your goals, your routine, your work, your life. Why are you doing what you are doing? Because the truth of the matter is, is that you may feel like, but, Kevin, it's just life.

0:04:24 - (Kevin Lowe): There's things that we have to do. There's things that we have to go through each and every day. And, yeah, I agree. But if you dont know why youre actually doing something, most likely youre never going to feel fully satisfied. You have to have a why behind what youre doing. And most likely its a deep seated reason why. If its not, well, then, quite honestly, you might be doing the wrong thing. Because I believe without a reason why behind what we are doing.

0:04:58 - (Kevin Lowe): It's kind of like you're just spinning your wheels, you're pressing on the gas pedal, and you're not going anywhere. The wheels are just slipping in the mud. And that is why I found it so powerful when Bushoy asked himself, why am I doing this? Why am I putting myself through this? Why am I out here in the middle of nowhere on a bicycle, deadbeat, exhausted, why am I here? Why am I doing this? And I ask you the where you are at in your life, what you are going through.

0:05:30 - (Kevin Lowe): Why are you here? Why are you doing what you are doing this? Its not just a question. Its a tool. It cuts through the noise, the distractions, and the superficial goals. It gets to the truth of it all. Think of your reason why as your anchor. Its what keeps you grounded, what keeps you still, even in the midst of the storm, and especially if you're at a point in your life where things seem a little bit off track, things don't seem to be going the way you want.

0:06:03 - (Kevin Lowe): It's more important than ever for you to come back to your why. And specifically the question, why am I doing this? If there are things that you're doing in your life that you don't have an answer to that question of why, well, then I would honestly start to question if they're really the right things for you because maybe you're doing them for somebody else. Maybe you're doing them because, well, it's what you think other people expect of you.

0:06:33 - (Kevin Lowe): And okay, I get it. It's life. I understand if that's where you are. But at the end of the day, I'm here to remind you that you are the only one who matters this life. We only get one chance at it. And I want you to be sure that you are making the most out of it each and every day. And if you are living a life doing things only because you feel like you need to, you're doing them out of obligation.

0:07:06 - (Kevin Lowe): You're doing them because other people told you that you should be doing them or that you've been made to believe that it's just part of life, well, then, my friend, that's just setting you up for some real problems later on in life. Maybe at the time you're able to deal with it, but most likely there's going to come a point in your life when you hit a brick wall emotionally and you don't understand what's wrong.

0:07:37 - (Kevin Lowe): Well, its the fact that youve been living a life for somebody else all this time. You never actually stopped and asked yourself, why am I doing this? And then followed that answer to make a change in your life if necessary. I want to go back to Bashawi for a moment. Again, if you did not listen to his interview, please go back and listen to him tell this story himself. Im just literally giving you an overview and it is certainly not as powerful as Bashul telling it himself.

0:08:10 - (Kevin Lowe): But for the sake of todays topic, I want you to go back to his story to put yourself in his shoes. On mile 40 here, he was on a bike by himself, no one around. Hed already done the swimming portion. Now hes on the bicycle. He was physically, mentally, emotionally done. Everything inside of him was screaming for him to just stop. But instead of giving in, he took a breath and he asked himself a question of why am I doing this?

0:08:44 - (Kevin Lowe): That question, his answer, it reminded him of his reason why, it reminded him of his purpose, and it reminded him of why he was even here in this particular moment in the first place. Ultimately, that gave him the strength to keep pushing forward, to finish the race, to finish the triathlon. This is the kind of clarity, this is the kind of power that can honestly change everything. It's a powerful reminder that when you're up against it, when the world seems to be against you, when nothing in your life seems to be going right, you need to ask yourself, why am I doing this more than any other time?

0:09:32 - (Kevin Lowe): Why am I here? Why am I fighting? Why am I doing what I'm doing? Because it's in these moments when you ask yourself this question and you get real and you get honest, the answer. It's what's going to give you the strength to keep going. I highly encourage you to take the time today, maybe right now, if you can, and sit down and think about your own life. Your career, your relationships, your goals, your dreams.

0:10:01 - (Kevin Lowe): And for each one of those, each things in your day that you do, I want you to ask yourself the same question we've been talking about. Of why am I doing this? Why do I care about this? Why do I have this dream? Get real. Get honest. Dig deep. Uncover a reason why that maybe at first glance, you don't even realize. But if you start digging deep and you start asking yourself, why? Why this? Why that?

0:10:33 - (Kevin Lowe): Why do I want this? Why am I trying so hard? It's those answers that we are getting out of this. Because at the end of the day, I don't want you just living on autopilot. I want you to wake up every day living with purpose. I want you chasing after the stuff that matters, the stuff that you want. I don't want you living a life for somebody else, doing the things that you think others expect of you.

0:11:01 - (Kevin Lowe): I want you to do the stuff that you truly love, that you care about. As I said, this is your life. This is your opportunity. Make the most of it right here and now. And I'll leave you with this last final thought. I want you to put yourself in the place of Boshoy. I want you to put yourself on a bicycle. And I want you to put yourself in the place that he was on mile 40. You're done. You're over it.

0:11:31 - (Kevin Lowe): It's life. The drama in your family. It's just gotten to you. Work is so tiresome. You come home every day exhausted from the stress of it all. Maybe it's the relationships that you're trying to make work. And honestly, trying is the big part here is that you keep trying, but maybe they're not working. I want you to remember to ask yourself, why am I doing this? Your answer to that question is what I hope you will use as your guiding light to have you moving forward.

0:12:09 - (Kevin Lowe): You, my friend, are amazing. You are made for greatness because, well, you have greatness inside of you. I want you to harness that greatness. I want you to let it shine. And I want you to make this life, your life, the best life for you and only you. Until next time, I'm Kevin Lowe, the host of great grace and inspiration, and I would love to invite you if you have something that you're dealing with.

0:12:41 - (Kevin Lowe): Maybe it's talking over today's topic about asking yourself the question of why am I doing this? Go ahead and book a free call with me. This will be me and you just sitting down. I just want to be there to help you, to provide value. And so scroll down and check out today's show notes where you can find a link to my online calendar and get on it. I would love to talk with you and see what you're dealing with and see if I can't give you some little bits of advice and tips and hints and just to be there for you, to help you because, well, that's honestly why I'm here.

0:13:22 - (Kevin Lowe): Doing this podcast is wanting to be a help to you. With that, I hope you have an amazing day. I hope you enjoyed today's episode. And hey, I'll see you in our next episode, episode 320.