Every year around this time, the demand for fitness memberships skyrocket. And for good reason: the start of a new calendar year brings with it renewed commitments to our personal health and wellbeing. Finally, I’m going to get that core I’ve always dreamed of…

But just as the desire for personal health and wellbeing are about to hit their annual high, you likely already know what will happen next.

According to USA Today, more than half of gym memberships go unused—that’s upwards of $1 billion on wasted fitness memberships every year.

What happens? And why, year after year, is the story the same? Inherently we understand the importance of caring for our bodies. But every year, we bow out before real change has a chance to kick in.

Could it be that committing to our core requires facing our greatest weakness head on? For many of us, is that just too hard to do?

I tend to think many of us run our organizations like we run our bodies:  we have the best of intentions to make them operate at their highest levels, but when it comes to strengthening our core, many of us get distracted along the way.  Because, just like our bodies, facing our places of greatest weakness can feel like our highest priority—just until it becomes our most daunting task. 

Something like this:

• A nonprofit adopts a bold strategic plan and commits to a focused set of activities. But six months in, their focus has been distracted by other pressing activities, and their core, once at its strongest, is weakened.
• Or, a foundation makes a bold commitment to shift resources to under-invested communities, but still relies on the same tools for their grantmaking, reverting to old practices. Their core philosophy, once strong, is weakened.

Finding our core, and sticking to it, is one of the most challenging, and essential tasks we face as leaders.  But here’s the deal:  if our bodies are built on a shaky core, our lives will suffer as a result. It’s no different for our organizations. Build a house on a shaky foundation, and you’re bound to have bigger problems down the road.

So, if a strong core is essential to long term health, then maybe it’s time to think about your work through this lens:

• What will it take to strengthen my core? What is central to your approach, as a business, a team, a leader? What values do you hold dear, and what is essential to protect and preserve always? In other words, what would you do tomorrow, and the day after that, even if you didn’t have the resources to do it?  That will help you refocus on your core.
• And, what is a distraction from my core? Who or what are you not? What will you never become? What will we refuse to do, even if you were handed $100M to expand your impact?  Knowing who you, or your organization is not is essential to being able to stay focused on who you are.

Bottom line: We can’t have it all.  We can’t expect that strong body without putting in the work, just like we can’t commit to a bold plan or a set of clear values and then decide to compromise them.  So, it really comes down to knowing, clearly and definitively, who you are, and who you are not, at your core.

This is week 47 of the Finding The Words column, a series published every Wednesday that delivers a dose of communication insights direct to your inbox. If you like what you read, we hope you’ll subscribe to ensure you receive this each week.