I’m grateful for the many mentors I’ve had throughout my professional journey and one of those individuals includes Dr. Ken Ravizza.

For those unfamiliar with him, he’s easily on the Mount Rushmore of most impactful figures within the field of sport psychology and, to this day, his impact is still being felt by many.

He passed away in 2018, but I still experience stretches or moments where I find myself thinking about him.

Sometimes it’s a lesson he shared. Sometimes it’s a memory of a precious moment I had with him during my days in graduate school at Cal State Fullerton. And other times, it’s the reoccurring question that comes to the back of my mind in certain situations: What would Ken say or do here?

One of my all-time favorite stories that I first heard from Ken is the ancient Greek story of Sisyphus.

Sisyphus was a king punished by Zeus and condemned to push a massive boulder up a hill for eternity. Each time he gets to the top, the rock must roll back down and he has to start again.

His punishment was to repeat this mundane action over and over again with no finish line in sight. But the reason I always appreciated this story is because of a version Ken would always share.

In Ken’s version, Sisyphus doesn’t resist the task, but rather embraces it. One day he attempts to push the rock as fast as he can. Another day he slows everything down and pays attention to each step. Another day he walks backward just to experience it in a different way.

The task itself didn’t change, but Sisyphus approached it differently each time. Each day, he chose to bring meaning and purpose to it.

Thankfully, none of us are being punished to eternity by literally pushing a boulder up a hill. But in a lot of ways, we are doing something similar (figuratively at least).

Every morning, you wake up and start pushing your own version of the rock. We all engage in daily, repetitive activities (e.g. work, chores, routines, commutes, etc.) that are a figurative version of us pushing our own rock up a hill. And then when we lay down at the end of hte night and go to sleep, the rock rolls back down.

We wake up the next morning and then we start and repeat it again.

The key here is that life does not automatically provide meaning for us. It’s up to us to bring meaning to life. And that’s a choice you make, every single day with whatever it is you engage in.

This choice is essential because purpose is a free performance-enhancer.

If the rock is going to be there anyway (and it will be for all of us), then it is our choice to bring purpose to it.

The question isn’t if you push it. It’s how you choose to push it.

So if you want to bring more purpose to what you do, here’s where I’d suggest starting.

Don’t just ask WHY. Get clear on your WHO.

Last month, I had the opportunity to speak to hundreds of people at the Thrive Summit, hosted by Personify Health.

The theme of the event was “Be the Why.”

And at the start of my session, I shared something that I’ve been sharing a lot more regularly. There are a lot of great thought leaders (including Simon Sinek) who emphasize the importance of starting with why and I think that’s incredibly valuable, especially when you’re leading others.

But on an individual level, for most of us, our why is rooted in a who.

Our why, our purpose, our life’s mission is often shaped by someone who believed in us. It’s shaped by someone who sacrificed for us. It’s influenced by someone who stayed with us through both the highs and the lows.

Or…It’s shaped by someone we now feel called to serve. It’s inspired by someone we desire to impact. It’s guided by someone we’re striving to become, either for ourselves or someone we care about.

It could be a family member. A mentor. A teammate. A future version of yourself. The people you lead.

So if you’re looking at the “rock” in your life and asking how to start pushing it more intentionally, it might be worth considering: Who are you pushing it for?

If that person were right there beside you, watching, supporting, believing in you, would you push the rock any differently?

Getting clear on your WHO has a way of sharpening your why. When your why and purpose are clear, your effort and impact will be transformed.

The rock is going to be there tomorrow. The tasks, the responsibilities, the repetition, it typically doesn’t disappear.

But your experience of them can change. Sisyphus wasn’t defined by the task he was given. He was defined by the meaning he chose to bring to it.

The same is true for all of us.

We don’t always get to choose the work. But we always get to choose how we show up to it.

For those interested in checking out my podcast, you’ll find a compilation of my most recent episodes below.

Solo Episodes:

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