Explore your “why.” This question haunts me a lot. I’m the mom of very curious little people who ask me “whyyyy” more often than I feel up to answering. These days, many things are even harder than usual to explain.

Explore your “why.” This was the pithy advice given on a recent podcast about reclaiming one’s time. I was listening while doing the breakfast dishes after rushing my kids to school, before starting another day working at Climate Solutions. Pretty sure I am the target audience for that podcast…I’m sure many of you reading this might feel the same. 

I have felt myself returning to this question during these hard days darkened by seemingly endless callous and harmful actions raining down from the new federal administration. Every day since January 20th, the deluge of President Trump’s executive actions and federal agency moves have halted or delayed so much progress, and threatened so many cornerstone protections and basic safety nets that we all rely on. 

We all have heard personal stories of the thousands of impressive and dedicated people directly impacted by the federal layoffs and withholding of federal funding, blocking projects, leaving needs unmet, and livelihoods damaged. 

How do we not “turtle” to avoid the news and current state of affairs?

Explore your “why.” Why do you do the work you do? Why does it matter to you? Why do you spend your time this way? 

The expert on this particular podcast said that realizing and connecting to the answers to this question can help you recognize your precious time and energy is valuable and ensure you are investing it in meaningful ways. It can help you be more resilient through the “busy” or challenging times in life. Especially during these hard days, remind yourself why you’re doing what you do to make a difference.

Here are my answers to that why for meat least today. 

I have spent nearly a decade at Climate Solutions working on tackling the causes of climate pollution in the Northwest and helping set us on course to a clean energy future. I now serve as our Director of Policy and Strategy to advance equitable climate policy across both Oregon and Washington after serving eight years as state director of our policy and advocacy work in Oregon. 

Why? Because I believe very strongly in our mission—accelerating clean energy solutions to the climate crisis. 

Why? Because I know climate solutions like solar and wind energy, like EVs and heat pumps, all improve our lives. Our air and water are cleaner, our energy bills are more steady and affordable, our homes, communities and economy are more resilient, and our kids’ chances to thrive here in our beloved corner of the world are better.

Why? Because I’ve seen these clean energy solutions in action here on the ground, in communities across Oregon and Washington. We now have solar and wind farms operating and more being built. We have homegrown energy storage, microgrids and clean tech companies cropping up. We now have electric transit buses and electric school buses replacing old diesel ones, and more charging stations to power them all. We have cleaner fuels like renewable diesel powering engines on our roads. We have affordable housing being constructed more energy efficiently and resiliently, and being heated and cooled by electric heat pumps.

Why? Because I deeply love and care about our Pacific wonderland and everyone who calls it home. I love raising little Oregonians here who wander our forests and marvel at our mountains, and I want them to continue to enjoy a good life here…rather than worry about things like wildfire season subsuming summer. 

We have much that we love and therefore much we want to protect and fight for. And that motivates me to keep going through these challenging times and ensure we truly achieve this clean energy future that makes it all possible.

I’ll confess that I set out to write a different piece, one about the top things we can do here in the Northwest to keep making climate progress in the face of federal headwinds. I will write about that soon because there is so much we can and should do to stay the course. But I decided to share something more personal now because without being in touch with our “why,” it’s hard to stay focused and resilient through these chaotic storms raging around the country and the world (literally and figuratively). 

Thankfully, I have found that I have so many valuable reasons that keep me grounded and motivated, and I hope you do too.

Now it’s your turn. What’s your why?