Find a Why Bigger Than Yourself
Your deeper purpose
Ambition becomes more durable when connected with meaning.
Editorial takeaway
My experience
In a later conversation, I explain that my motivation for hockey is also linked to my father's business setbacks and the desire to achieve something extraordinary with Belgium as an underdog. That greater purpose helped me through periods of injury, disappointment and doubt.
Based on what I myself told in coaching conversations (2023–2025), editorially summarized. Source: Transcript, p. 1177–1178.
The essential lesson
A goal describes what you want to achieve. A deeper purpose tells you why the effort matters even when the result is far away.
The core principle
Ambition becomes more durable when connected with meaning.
Apply it
Reflection questions
- 1Who or what do you do for?
- 2What meaning do you have when the result seems far away?
- 3How would you describe your deeper intention in one sentence?
Editorial reflection questions, derived from the principle.
Practical exercise
- Write down your target. Then ask me three times why is this important to me? Look which layer you hit the most.
Editorial application: Newly designed exercise, no literal source material.
My reflection
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My next step
The Coach's Lens
Many conversations came back to the meaning behind visible goals: what I hoped reaching them would change for me.
What do I hope achieving this goal will change for me?
The Coaching SideMeet your Inner Team
The characters behind this principle
An interpretive layer on “Find a Why Bigger Than Yourself” — the story and lessons above stay the heart of the principle.
The Dreamer
“What if it’s possible?”
Brings: imagination, optimism
Watch for: unrealistic expectations
What meaningful possibility am I willing to work toward?
The Underdog
“Why not us?”
Brings: courage, commitment
Watch for: letting the need to prove others wrong overshadow personal values or realistic limits
What makes this ambition worth pursuing, even if the outcome is uncertain?
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