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I was speaking with a friend recently, who decided to go back to the corporate world after consulting for over 5 years. Of all his reasons, the main reason was that he no longer cared about what he did and who he did it for.

I know this feeling well, because closer to the end of my time with my old organization, I felt it. I have a specific memory of having a new client sitting across from me, detailing her concerns with her housing and benefits. When I first started working there, I would go above and beyond to do what I could for a client. But listening to her (and taking stock of my place within the organization), I realized that I didn’t care.

I’ve always told myself that when I get to the point where I no longer cared about what I do and who I do it for, I would call it quits. So, I did.

But one day in early 2018, I was preparing to write a blog post, create an email newsletter to send out to my subscribers, and do some work for my consulting clients.

It was a snowy, cloudy day. As I waited for my laptop to boot up, I looked out the window and asked myself, “Why am I doing this?”

While I still enjoy what I do and am not yet at a place where I’m ready to call it quits, at least once a week I question myself.

I had a clearer answer when I was juggling a side-hustle consulting business along with my full time job. The goal was to get to the day where I could transition out of my day job to full time consulting.

Before transitioning, I knew what the end game was: to live life on my terms and help organizations raise their voices for women and girls of color. Once that transition happened, it became harder to stay motivated because everything I was doing was for someone else.

What I’m learning along the way is that it’s ok to question a dream. Which can be difficult when you’ve had a tunnel vision on that dream for so long. I’ve also learned that it’s ok to give yourself permission to try.

I’m also learning that you have to constantly evaluate WHY you’re doing it. Your WHY can change at any time, and transitions along with where you are in life.

And motivation alone can’t be what drives you. While external factors can serve as motivation, you have to develop some intrinsic value in what you do. If you’re not happy, it’ll come out in who you do it for.

Raise Your Voice: How often do you evaluate your WHY? Share below in the comments section.