What vs How vs Why

As we have been exploring intentionality these past weeks I have started noticing the difference between focusing on what I do, how I do it, and why.

What, is obvious. It is what you are actually doing. The washing of dishes, the cleaning of messes, the having over of friends. It's tangible and apparent. However... if you don't look past that it is easy to get frustrated when the what is not going like you want.

How, while not quite as obvious is still often observable. However, when you get down to this level it starts to open up new paths and strategies for doing things better. I can keep the kids buys cleaning up the living room and dining room for long enough to get a full load of dishes into the dishwasher. This is good. It makes things go more smoothly and it can really make a difference as far as how much I get done.

Why, however can be a doozy. When we started this I had a list of my priorities. Things that were important to me and that were good and valuable. As we have gotten into this though I have realized that some things that I thought were priorities have started slipping down the list. Admittedly I had about ten so that was probably a bit much, but I'm learning so I started out generous. Some of them that are slipping should be. I don't like it, but as I've evaluated them I realized I needed to let them drop down. Others have dropped down not because I have made a reasoned evaluation, but because my actions have simply born them out. That hasn't been as good. However, it has created a real opportunity for me to do some self evaluation and explore what is lacking in those areas.

Any life adventure must be built upon a clear set of whys. If you don't know why you are doing what you are doing you are sailing without a compass.