40 Examples of a Personal Why

John Spacey, September 24, 2022

A personal why is a statement of your purpose in life. These can also be situational such as your professional purpose, business purpose or a purpose related to your student career. A personal why is similar to the mission statement of a company -- it captures a compelling purpose. These are often used to market an individual on resumes, in social media or in a personal statement for a college application. Personal whys can also be kept to yourself whereby you use them develop as a person. The following are illustrative examples of a personal why.

Accountability Proceed with effort and due diligence and take responsibility when things fail.	Behavior Take the high road by maintaining higher standards for my behavior than I may encounter in others.
Being Yourself To be myself with sincerity and confidence.	Bravery To overcome my fears and build up grit and resilience.
Business Use my passion for cuisine and cooking to create a valuable and sustainable restaurant business.	Commercial Success To produce music that gains wide recognition and a large fan base.
Community To be of service to my community.	Connectedness To cultivate relationships in the art world such that I become well known in the art scene.
Conservation To contribute to the preservation of ____ and to prevent the extinction of the species.	Coolness To stop worrying about the things that don't matter
Culture To live a cultured life surrounded by music, art and interesting people.	Design To develop designs and solutions that advance the engineering of large wooden structures.
Emotion Cultivate emotional depth and understanding of others.	Environment Work to improve air quality in ____.
Epic Experience Explore game worlds and develop as a gamer.	Existence Work to survive and thrive.
Family To support my family and provide them with every opportunity to thrive and live life to its fullest.	Freedom Live a free life that is self-directed and inspired.
Friendship Build and sustain rewarding friendships.	Human Experience Try to be a humble, reasonable and inspired human being.
Humor Try to see the humor in things and not become overly stressed or dramatic.	Knowledge Let my curiosity be my guide.
Languages To immerse myself in French and study hard to perfect my speaking and comprehension.	Leadership To build up others and provide them with opportunities to lead.
Legacy Try to make the world a better place and build up those around me.	Life Experience To challenge myself each day to try something beyond my comfort zone.
Mastery Master the piano and gain perform experience.	Parenting To be a good parent.
Pragmatism I aim to be realistic, cooperative and flexible to get things done.	Productivity Use time well and work to create immense value.
Profession Develop my personal presence to become a top closer (e.g. closing sales).	Research To develop therapies that treat or cure ______.
Respect To earn credibility in my profession and a reputation for being reliable, capable and accountable.	Self-Awareness Challenge myself to discover my weaknesses and cultivate my strengths.
Social Issues Work to free refugees held under harsh conditions in detention centers in ____.	Spirituality Abide by the way of things and try to live with a sense of humility, kindness and wonder.
Sport Pursue high performance and demonstrate a competitive spirit in _____ (sport).	Teaching To inspire in students a love of learning.
Wealth Build and sustain family wealth for future generations.	Work Ethic Work hard and be reliable and diligent.