Reconnecting with Your Why
The block corner is chaos. Someone’s crying, someone’s climbing, someone’s telling you that someone else took their truck. You glance at the clock and think, “It’s only 10:15?” This was my lens as an early childhood educator and I imagine for those that work in other organizations, the story is similar in many ways.
We’ve all been there. Moments that make us wonder why we do this work. But within that question lies an invitation: to reconnect with what drew us here in the first place. Reconnecting with our “why” doesn’t erase the hard parts. It reminds us that what we do matters — that every interaction, every question, every small repair is part of something bigger.
This past week, I did a keynote for an organization in Kansas that brings together child advocates, state DCF employees, foster parents, and many collaborating agencies. The work we do with children and family matters because protecting, supporting, and strengthening families is human centered. It’s emotional, complex, and often invisible to the outside world. The daily demands can erode the very compassion and clarity that drew them to the field in the first place.
We can’t serve others well if we lose sight of what matters most. Daily routines, regulations, and stress can push purpose into the background. Compassion fatigue, secondary trauma, or overextension dull the sense of meaning.
The field’s constant change can leave professionals feeling reactive instead of intentional. Youdidn’t lose your “why” — it just got buried under everything else you carry.
Appreciative Reconnection, The Power of Noticing What’s Working
One of the simplest ways to reconnect is to ask, “What’s working, even a little bit?”
Appreciative Inquiry invites us to begin not with what’s broken, but with what gives life to our work. It’s a shift from fixing to noticing. From exhaustion to curiosity.
It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day whirlwind, being short-staffed, managing challenging behaviors, and juggling endless reports and deadlines. In those moments, our focus often drifts toward what’s not working, what’s missing, or what feels too heavy to hold. But when we pause long enough to notice what is working, the small moments of connection, the sparks of curiosity, the laughter between the chaos , we begin to reconnect with the deeper “why” that brought us here in the first place.
I remember one afternoon when a child I had taken care of and had moved on to elementary school came to visit. She brought with her a picture of the two of us, holding hands. It wasn’t fancy, but it was real. It reminded me that connection IS the most important thing. It matters more than we may know in the moments that fill each day a child is with us.
When was the last time you felt that quiet spark of “This is why I do this”?
Practical Ways to Reconnect
Name what’s working. Start staff meetings or journal entries with “One small thing that went right today.”
Use visual anchors. Post your core “why” in your classroom or workspace, words like Joy, Connection, Growth, Belonging.
Celebrate micro-moments. Sometimes breaking down the small moments in the day that went well from returning a bunch of emails or finalizing a report can be worthy of celebration
Lean on reflection partners. Build a buddy system, share weekly “wins” with a colleague.
The Collective Why
Our “why” is personal, but also shared. Together, educators and those who support children and families shape what the future feels like for children. That’s not small work, that’s world-changing.
At Positive Spin VT, we believe that reconnecting with purpose restores energy, creativity, and joy, not because we have fewer challenges, but because we remember what gives our work meaning.
“Purpose isn’t something we find once. It’s something we return to again and again.” —Ellen M. Drolette
