How to reconnect with your “why” to create inspired content
The most powerful aspect of working for yourself or owning your own business is that you’re doing work you feel strongly about. While your time isn’t always “yours,” you get to choose who you want to work with and what work you want to be doing – and when you’re in alignment with this path or your “why,” your work can feed your energy and create a powerful movement forward.
From a marketing and communications perspective, this can be a powerful place to be. If you’re new to putting yourself out there as a leader or tackling all of the unknowns of owning your own practice, you’re constantly running up against those invisible walls and self-sabotaging inner voices that are questioning your leadership and authority. But by being able to reconnect and get into alignment with your “why,” you’re more easily able to move through what feels hard and authentically connect with your audience.
So, what does it mean to be in alignment with your “why”?
Why are you doing this work? What are the goals and aspirations driving you, and what impact do you ultimately want to have?
When you’re connected to this, you can often feel a sense of alignment or resonance. It may feel like an internal power source or an a-ha inspiration around your work. Perhaps it feels like a burst of energy or a deep feeling that suggests, “Yes! This is what I’m meant to be doing!”
Another way to assess it is to recognize what doesn’t give you energy around your work. Are you dragging through the day? Are there certain activities you’re doing that you dread and others that give you life?
Julie Stoltman of Reframe Career & Leadership created an energy management assessment. Try using this as a tool to help you monitor what gives and takes your energy throughout the day.
Why it's important for your marketing and communications
There are two primary reasons why aligning with your “why” is important when we’re talking about your marketing and communications. First is that authenticity in your communications and communications that lead with value create meaningful connections with your target audience. If you’re inspired by your work, you’re inspiring others. And, well, if you’re not, how can you expect others to be engaged?
Another reason is that being in resonance or alignment can be what you need to move you forward when you’re feeling stuck. For many of us, marketing yourself and your business feels straining, and if this is you, using these moments of inspiration can make it feel a lot less heavy.
Let’s say you’ve set a writing goal for yourself, but you’ve found it difficult to make time and space to do the work. Your energy is increasingly taken up with the mundane – but necessary – tasks so you’re feeling less inspired. And it feels increasingly difficult to sit down and write about something that will connect with your audience because you’re not in the right headspace. Similarly, it may feel difficult to get a message up on social media about your work, even though you’re feeling like you should.
But you have a meeting with a client, and you come away from it feeling inspired or feeling lighter. Your advice or work is making a difference, and as a result, you’re feeling renewed energy – and it’s in this space that you know you want to do more and share the importance of this work with others.
How to realign with your “why” when you need it
Momentary inspirations can be wonderful sources of renewed energy, but we don’t always have the bandwidth to drop what we’re doing and create content. Instead, we can be intentional about creating it when we need it, especially when we’re feeling challenged or stuck.
Step 1: Recognize when you feel in alignment
For many of us, it’s a big step forward to understand our energy. Julie at Reframe suggests giving yourself a few days or a week to write down what’s giving you energy and what’s taking it away.
Noting these moments and the difference in how you feel can allow you to get a better sense for when you feel most inspired. And on the flip side, it may give you the opportunity to change or find ways to address the things that don’t feel good.
Step 2: Be intentional about dedicating time to reconnect to your “why”
Again, your marketing and communications may, in general, feel uncomfortable and uninspiring. Generating more work and income, though, generally means that you’re continuously putting yourself out in the world – and if you’re feeling uninspired as you’re generating your marketing and communications, it’s likely that it’s not going to inspire anyone else.
So, one way to do this is to dedicate time, whether it’s just a few minutes or several hours. Give yourself the gift of uninterrupted time and perhaps move to a space that allows you to feel connected and gets your creative juices flowing.
Step 3: Write out or reconnect with your “why” statement
You may have created your “why” statement on other occasions. If so, revisit it as a way of setting an intention for your time. If you haven’t already created it, here are a few questions to get you started:
What are the core beliefs or values central to the kind of work you do and how you do your work?
Is there a story or defining experience(s) that has informed your values or why you do this work?
What are the areas of your work that bring you the greatest joy or resonance?
What are your aspirations as a leader? What impact do you want to have?
What will success look and feel like?
Again, this exercise works to put you in an aligned headspace. You may also be able to use tricks, like looking at your website or something you’ve already written, to jog feelings of resonance.
Another way to get there might be to capitalize on an inspired client moment or being in community with someone who can help you remember or reaffirm the value of your work. While you ultimately want to be able to find ways to tap into this space on your own, being in community can be a great way of getting out of your own head if you feel really stuck.
Step 4: Now, are you feeling it? Use these moments to tackle a difficult project
Now that you’re back and feeling reconnected to your work – in a new and refreshed way – use this time to tackle some of those mar-comm projects that you might have been putting off:
Writing a compelling email
Drafting a blog post
Putting together a social media post
Creating ad copy
Like tackling anything hard, taking even small steps forward can mean progress and forward movement. Also, the more you put yourself out there, the easier it becomes and the less your inner, self-sabotaging voices stop you from getting started.
Does marketing and communications feel hard? You’re not alone, and our communications coaching can help. Let’s chat!
