To Stay In This Early Childhood Business You Need a Why

Have you ever asked yourself, "Why am I doing this?"

After all, you know where you're headed — a successful early childhood business and a successful life —, but why do you want any of that?

Is it simply ambition? Is it financial security? Is it your love of the industry? Is it the hope for a better life and education for the future generation?

Knowing your "why" will provide you with clarity in your life and your business. 

But how can you know what your "why" is? And why is it so important?

This is exactly what I discuss in today's episode of Early Childhood Business Made Easy!

So, if you'd like to know the answers to those questions (and more), make sure to tune in now.

Are you ready?

Let's dive in!

Do You Have a ‘Why?’

Let me ask you a question: You know where you're headed, but why do you care about getting there? 

If you don't know the answer to that question, you'll get discouraged when the going gets tough. If you do, you'll have the clarity and confidence you need to problem-solve, push through, and make your goals happen. 

All of this can feel really abstract, but those who emphasize the importance of knowing their ‘why’ have a clearer understanding of why this matters. It will lead to a greater sense of purpose in your life and success in your business, which in turn can have significant effects on your enrollment, the performance of your team, the families you serve, and your own work-life balance.

I have been managing or owning early childhood businesses for more than 25 years now. Whether it was out in the field managing a KinderCare center or operating my own boutique preschools, I had to find something to help me get through the week. 

In the beginning, things felt so overwhelming and chaotic. And I often had to ask myself why I was doing it? “Why am I sacrificing my time, my family, and the things I want most?” I thought.

In our world of early childhood business, many things can happen on any one given day. And I just kept wondering what it was all for. The temptation to quit and throw in the towel was a recurring theme in my life because I didn’t know my ‘why.’

Here’s How to Find Your ‘Why’

In his book Your Best Year Ever, Michael Hyatt shares the importance of finding your key motivations. 

When progress seems impossible, you need to find your ‘why.’ No one crosses the messy middle unless they truly want what's on the other side of that discomfort. 

And, good news for you: You can find your ‘why’ and unleash a powerful source of personal motivation simply by taking the three actions below. 

Identify Your Key Motivations

At the beginning of the year, my vision and my goals are always very clear. In fact, everyone starts their year looking forward to achieving success. But in the middle, things can get tough. And the progress we need to make to get through the chaos seems insurmountable. 

Many of us have had that experience in our businesses, our relationships, or even our parenting. In the beginning the enthusiasm is high. We're energized by that burst of excitement that comes from starting something new. But that burst is like starter fluid. It's not the fuel that will see us through the journey. To go the distance we need something stronger, deeper, and more meaningful. 

That’s why when things get difficult, we start wondering if we're going to make it to the finish line. We might even question why we started in the first place. When things are looking like they're getting tough, it's easy to lose our vision altogether. 

If we don't stay connected to our ‘why,’ the vision we have will only be temporary. This is where intrinsic motivation comes in. Intrinsic motivation drivers come from our hopes, our values, and our ambitions. 

So when identifying your ‘why,’ look at the intrinsic motivations. You need to identify and see what is at stake if you achieve your goals. Your ‘why’ makes all the difference in the world because it connects you to the power of your intrinsic motivations. 

Focus On the Journey 

When you focus on the journey, you’ll find that your ‘why’ pivots from beginning to middle to end. So it's important that you're not just focused on your destination. 

Starting, as I wrote above, is the simple part. It's the ongoing daily progress that gets tough. The hill may be steeper than you thought, the road might be longer than you assumed. I've been in this very spot countless times in my fitness journey, in my career as an entrepreneur, in my marriage, and even in parenting. 

As you identify your key motivations, you might realize a certain goal has immense personal value to you and the journey you are on right now. If you value something enough, you will find a way to make it work. You'll be able to endure the journey way more than you ever thought you could.

The opposite response is also possible; you might realize you valued a particular goal or vision in theory, but in reality, you just didn't develop a deep enough motivation to pursue it any longer. And that is okay. Letting go of a goal or vision you value less makes space for you to pursue something else. All of this will help you focus on the journey.

Accept and Work Through the Messy Middle

The final key to working on finding your ‘why’ is to accept and work through the messy middle. Let me ask you a question: Have you ever struggled with doubt on the path to achieving a goal?

In that moment when resistance hits hard, we lack confidence and the way forward seems very unclear. And the truth is, this happens to all of us, whatever our goal, or how clear our vision is.

We start full of energy and excitement, but eventually, we hit that first bump on the road. This is the point in the journey where we wonder if we're ever going to make it to the finish line. We might even question why we started in the first place. And we're really tempted to quit and find something easier. 

Encountering the messy middle is a natural part of moving toward anything you truly care about. Sometimes, we think if we just plan better, we can avoid the pain and breeze through it to the finish. But that almost never happens. 

Life is unpredictable, and something unexpected is bound to happen. This is the key. We need to accept this unpredictability and know that it's going to be okay. When we accept it and live with it, we will find the strength and the confidence to deal with it. 

I discuss all of this in more depth in the episode above, so make sure to give it a listen!

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Resources

Be sure to get on our email list so we can send you more information about our Shine Membership for Early Childhood Business Owners/Managers that is now Open!

We give Early Childhood business owners/managers the operational strategies and tools they need to grow their profitable businesses with more joy, confidence, clarity, and less overwhelming.

You will learn how to spend less time on small details and daily tasks. You can spend more time doing the things you truly enjoy. Focusing on the things that really matter, your top priorities, your key relationships, your most important projects, all the things that will bring you more joy and your business more success.

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