Word: Why

Sentence:

Your why may not protect you from the hard days, but it can still help carry you through them.

Passage:

One year ago, I started The Match weekly newsletter with this word.

Why.

It felt like the only place to begin.

When I was principal at Sullivan High School, before the numbers moved, before the culture shifted, before people started to believe something different was possible, we had to answer one question.

Why are we here?

For me, the answer was simple. I wanted to build a school I would be proud to send my own child to. A place where students felt seen, educators had a voice, and the community could believe in the school again.

The how changed a hundred times.

The why never did.

I did not know then that one year later I would still be sitting with one word each week, trying to make sense of leadership, loss, family, purpose, change, grief, healing, and all the things we carry while we keep showing up.

I also did not know how much I would need it.

Some weeks, The Match has felt like writing. Other weeks, it has felt like remembering.

One year later, we have sat with 52 words together. Some came from leadership. Some came from loss. Some came from the work. Some came from life. But all of them have been trying to do the same thing: help us pause long enough to remember what still matters.

For those who are new here, welcome. Each week, I sit with one word, one sentence, and one passage. A small spark to help us pause, reflect, and stay connected to the work, to each other, and to ourselves.

But really, I think I keep writing it because I still need the question.

Why am I here?

Not just in my job, or a title, or a role someone else can give or take away. But underneath all of that.

What am I here to protect?
What am I here to grow?
What am I here to serve?
What am I here to keep alive in myself and in others?

The hard days have a way of testing that. They can make us forget. They can make us tired. They can make us question whether the work is worth what it costs.

And that is when why matters most.

Not because it makes the hard days easier. It does not.

But because it gives us something to return to when the how falls apart.

The how will always change.

The job may change.
The role may change.
The people may change.
The room may change.
The version of you doing the work may change too.

But the why is the thread.

It is what we reach for when we are trying to remember who we are and what still matters.

One year later, that is what The Match has become for me: a thread, a small fire, and a weekly return to the question that started it all.

Your Turn:

What is one why you keep returning to?

Help us grow The Match community! One word. One reflection. One person at a time.

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Read past Match posts here: chadhthomas.com