Voor Nederlands, klik hier.
My father used to have a vegetable garden. Although he traveled a lot for business, he spent a lot of time in his vegetable garden. He “worked” in the garden (as he said) when he came home from the office in the evenings and on weekends.
I remember the garden always looked really good. When he finished sowing, Dad would have neatly pushed the empty seed packets onto a stick and put them in the ground. He learned a lot from a book and, of course, from the neighbor who also had a vegetable garden. It was quite a challenge because he gardened on nutrient-poor sandy soil. Manure had to be fetched annually from someone from the church who had a livestock farm. The car stank of manure for weeks afterward…
My father had a great love for gardening, and he told me that he often “talked” to the plants.
The late summer harvests were always very rich. I am convinced that this was the effect of my father’s work in the vegetable garden.
HOW to do things
In living your WHY it matters HOW you do this. Your WHY is your contribution and its effect on the world. This article helps you to find out HOW to do things better to bring your WHY alive.
During a session to discover your WHY, your HOWs quickly surface. These are the themes that appear more often in the stories you tell.
HOW = Your powers
Your HOWSs are your strengths, your strengths, or those actions that others do but that makes you unique. It is your talents or your core qualities. These are strengths that describe the positive aspects of you. They help you to be in your natural best state and be successful. Do you want to gain insight into your character strengths? Read this article and take a FREE assessment.
HOW = your precepts
You immediately know what is right or wrong. You feel it in your body, and it is closely linked to your ethics. Examples are how you deal with people (I often laugh and am curious) or your life rules.
I try to follow the following precepts by asking myself with every statement whether it is true, nice, or necessary.
Richard Maybury’s two laws also guide me:
- Do all you have agreed to do, and
- Do not encroach on other persons or their property.
HOW = your values
Examples of values include honesty, consistency, restraint, service, loyalty, defiance, excellence, joy, support, or determination. They are connected to your core qualities.
Often companies have beautiful values. To prevent a value from becoming an empty concept, linking an action to it is important.
One of my values is service. This is expressed as follows: “I help others so that their lives are a little easier.”
You can read more on how to discover your values here.
HOW = follow your heart
If you follow your precepts, it will open your heart if you do the right things. Those are the things that help to live your Why, your purpose, to do your mission, and to realize your vision (read more about your mission, vision, and purpose here). Also, keep in mind that you do those things that help you achieve those things and that others do not manipulate you or take your time. Ask yourself whether you are doing something for yourself or to ‘please’ someone else.
HOW = bring your WHY to life
By doing those things HOW you do them, you realize your vision and bring your WHY to life. My Why is “I facilitate so that others can elevate themselves and live happier, more loving lives.” By helping people make their lives a little easier, I live my WHY.
Examples of HOWs (not all mine):
- I smile a lot
- I imagine what is possible and go beyond it
- See the bigger picture
- Learn from every experience
- Making meaning for society
- Making the most of the day for more energy
- Seeing the good in people
How do I make my HOWs stronger?
Once you have identified your HOWs through an assessment or WHY session, you can reinforce them when you:
- Keep them simple (even a child should understand them)
- Make them actionable. It may help to change the adjective into a HOW. An example is my value of “loyalty.” My HOW is then: “I do the things I promise.” That is different from “I remain faithful,” and that comes across as passive.
- When they are yours. When you say you HOW aloud, it should give a positive emotion, a strength, or a good feeling. It should remind you of those times when you did those things when you were your best. A beautiful HOW is to see the positive in everything. To be honest, that doesn’t sit well with me because I often see problems (ask those people who know me well). A HOW is not a way of working that you would like, but the behavior you show when you’re at your best.
- Provide them with context. Once you have found your HOWs, you can add a sentence to clarify what it might look like in practice. Also, keep it simple here, so it’s easy to do. So for me, it would look like this: “I help others so that their lives are easier – being aware of people who need attention.” “I do the things I promise-Make agreements when something is ready.”
Discover your HOWs
Your HOWs help you as a filter to make choices. They help you bring your WHY to life and experience greater direction, success, fulfillment, and joy.
In addition to your WHY, you can discover your HOWs during a WHY session. You can read more about a WHY session here. Are you interested in such a session? Contact us for a FREE introduction or press the button below.
HOW do you do the things you do?/What sets you apart from others when doing those things? Let me know in the comment field below. The other readers of this article. and I are looking forward to reading from you!
Thank you for reading up to here & sharing this article with your colleagues, friends, or family. And please SHARE this article with your network on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn by pressing the buttons below so that they can also benefit from this blog on HOW to do things. You are welcome to copy parts of this blog if you state the source.
Have you seen an error in this article? Let me know! I am grateful!
Source: Simon Sinek, “Find your WHY”
