Why do you want to go plant-based? Your “why” is your foundation for adopting a vegan or plant-based diet. Having a clear vision of your motivation and goals helps, especially when the road becomes a bit rocky. In this post, you’ll learn how you can define your individual vision to start your plant-based journey.
“Ashley, why did you go plant-based?”
I initially went vegan for health reasons. I struggled with chronic constipation for most of my life. Once I started eating more plants, I realized that I was feeling a lot better and that I no longer feared going to the bathroom. I didn’t need to spend hours there and could finally start living my life to the fullest. Going to the bathroom no longer dictated my life and now it doesn’t take me nearly as much time to “get down to business”. It has also changed my relationship with food tremendously, as I can now eat with a lot more ease and less anxiety.
As you can see, my “why” at the end is different to why I went plant-based in the first place. And that is totally normal and will probably happen to you, too, as any personal journey is rarely linear and will have a lot of different stopovers.
Your “why” is your foundation. I’ve gone through this with all my clients, and they all have found it very helpful. It helped them create a really clear vision of their goals, especially when the road became a bit rocky. But don’t worry, I am here to tell you how you can find your individual reason to start your plant-based journey.
First things first: why are you here? Why are you reading this article, and why are you interested in going more plant-based in the first place? It really doesn’t matter what other people think, but really what YOUR answer to these questions is. Sometimes talking to a friend can be helpful, too. Not necessarily to get their opinion on it, but during that conversation, you might start to feel a certain way when talking about going plant-based and discover your “why” that way.
Just to give you a little idea, here are the most common reason for adopting a plant-based diet:
These are 4 very general terms and simply choosing one of these won’t be enough to identify your “why”, because they are still very broad terms. As I’ve mentioned in the beginning, I really struggled with constipation for most of my life and noticed a big difference when implementing more plants into my diet. So, my change was for my health, but it had a very specific issue that I wanted to solve – and, luckily, one that I did manage to solve. For you, it might be that you want to reduce high cholesterol, to no longer support animal exploitation, to reduce your carbon footprint or to simply challenge yourself. All of these answers are equally valid.
My recommendation for you is to be very clear on your “why”. Why do you want to go plant-based? It’s doesn’t really matter how you’ll answer the question but try to be very clear in your vision.
Now that we are a little clearer on HOW you can find your “why”, let’s get into WHY you should really know your reason for going more plant-based.
What does getting clear on your “why” do?
This will differentiate your reasons from everyone else’s. No matter what kind of change you are trying to implement into your life, it might get a bit tricky at times – which is normal. This is also why a lot of new-years-resolutions fail: it’s because people feel the pressure to change, but they don’t really know why they should change at all. Once you know your answer to that questions, you will have a much clearer vision of your specific journey.
Once you are clear on your vision, you will probably start to ignite your passion for your plant-based journey. Starting to discover new foods, trying out new recipes and also finally going through with a change that is very personal to you can be super fun. And inviting change into our lives also strengthens our character, as it allows us to grow as a person.
Let’s be real, not all journeys are a straight, smooth and easy path. There will most likely be bumps along the way and things can get rocky. Once your hit a point like that, your “why” will allow you to keep going. Perhaps you even want to create your own vision board with your main reason for going plant-based on there. Because sometimes, we all need a bit of visual stimulation, don’t we?
Food is a big part of our life. We usually eat multiple times a day and, for most people, eating is a very social thing. Once you tell people about the journey you’re are on, you might be met with questions, curiosity or, perhaps, a little bit of confusion. Here is where your “why” will help you give very clear answers and perhaps inspire others to join you on this journey. At least it will allow you to keep your head in the game.
Once you start to repeat the internal or even external monologue of your “why”, you will start to internalize it more and more. This will allow you to maintain a clear focus on your purpose, on why you embarked upon this journey in the first place. Having a purpose will enable you to never lose sight of your “why”.
One way to find your “why” is to journal. I truly believe in the power of journaling, of writing down your thoughts and just letting everything pour out onto paper. If journaling isn’t really for you, then perhaps just taking a few moments to think about the questions below and only writing down words that are very important to you and that connects you to your “why” will work, too.
For this exercise, I invite you to set a timer for 5 minutes, if you are only answering the first three questions (for now) or a maximum of 10 minutes if you intend on answering all 6 questions. Choose a quiet place to sit, maybe put on some background music and put pen to paper.
Once you have done this exercise, your “why” will be very clear and individual to you. As you probably know, changing your lifestyle won’t always be easy. But now you have packed all the essentials to start your plant-based journey. You might want to get started buying some food and get to know vegan essentials and substitutes. Wherever this journey might lead you, be kind to yourself and also open to your “why” changing over time, as did mine. The good thing is that it will be always personal to you and you alone.
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