Air Force Chaplain (Maj) Kent Schmidt has an article on spiritual resilience, part of the four-pillar Comprehensive Airman Fitness, in which he encourages his readers to “focus on the why:”

It’s all too easy for those of us serving in a high tempo Air Force to get driven and consumed by the “What?”…Getting caught up in the reactive world, some call it the tyranny of the urgent, can cause us to lose sight of the “Why?” The “Why” becomes subsumed by the “What.”

I’d like to encourage you to make it a point to daily, take a deep breath or two, close your door, dim your computer screen and close your eyes and ask yourself “Why?” Why am I doing what I’m doing today? Why am I on this current trajectory? 

The chaplain explains that by focusing on why, “we can move on the more creative “How?””  Rather than being a victim of the tyranny of the urgent, this focus on the why results in a connection — a purpose:

The “What” then becomes connected to purpose and meaning to the “Why” and the “How.” In other words, we begin to live authentically.

The chaplain closes by expressing his belief in a higher purpose, and encourages others to consider theirs:

Ultimately, I believe, we all serve a higher purpose that is connected to our true identities. I encourage you to make the time to study your favorite philosopher, or to read a good book, or to attend your chosen place of worship, so that you might strengthen or even rediscover your true identity, your higher purpose, and your reason for living.

There is certainly value to recognizing the worth of purpose and meaning, particularly in a profession that entrusts some of its members with lethal force and the ability to use it.

Interestingly, while atheists have criticized the military’s promotion of “spiritual fitness,” equating it with imposing a religion, the chaplain never once mentioned religion or even faith.