Business Mindset Matters 3 - Your Why Is Your Superpower

byGail-UK

3.8K followers

2 months ago

Hello WA family

Welcome back to Business Mindset Matters - episode 3.

Apologies for the slight delay in posting this, but I hope you think it's worth the wait!

If you’ve been following this series, you’ll remember that in Episode 1, we looked at Dream Big, Start Small, and in Episode 2, we tackled Taming the Fear Monster, that tricky, ever-present negative voice that tries to keep us safe but can also keep us stuck.

Today, we’re going to dig a little deeper. We’re talking about something that sits at the heart of motivation and long-term success — your WHY.

Some people would say that as long as you understand your reasons for doing something, then you will be motivated to do anything. But I think that is a little simplistic and that to truly understand what motivates you, takes a bit more effort and self-reflection.

Let me explain what I mean.

1. The Big Question – What’s Your Why?

Most people can explain what they do and how they do it.
But ask them why, and their answers usually dry up pretty quickly.

If your first instinct is to say, “to make money” or “to be successful”, try digging deeper. In Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), we call it chunking, which just means getting rid of the surface layers and answers to reach the real reasons underneath.

And don't fool yourself that it's because you want 'more money'. No one sat alone on a desert island, surrounded by piles of money and no one to share it with, says that they just 'want more money!'

So if you say you want more money, ask yourself what that would actually do for you. Keep asking - keep digging deeper until you discover your true motivation. It's likely to be because you want to FEEL different.

• Is it freedom — to work where and when you choose?
• Is it security — to know your bills are paid and your family’s cared for?
• Is it fulfilment — the joy of doing something meaningful?

The deeper you go, the more personal and powerful your answers become.

2. Pain vs Pleasure – The Two Forces Behind Every Decision

Which one of these two people is the most motivated?

You may think it is the guy on the right, but in reality, they are both motivated - they are just motivated by, and to do different things.

Psychology tells us that human beings are motivated by two main forces:

• The avoidance of pain, or
• The pursuit of pleasure.

So in our simple example, the person on the right goes for a jog because they love how it makes them feel alive (pleasure). And the one on the sofa is motivated to stay on the sofa. Perhaps this activity in the past made him feel safe, maybe he was bullied, so now it feels safer to him to stay at home and avoid the pain of the bullying. Now this action may have served him once, but it may not be serving him well now. But he is still motivated!

You see, every action we take is driven by what we believe will make us feel safer, more comfortable, or more in control, even when the outcomes look completely different.

3. Is Knowing Your Why Enough?

So let’s say your “why” is freedom. For you, that means more time with your family, or freedom from the nine-to-five grind and the 'rat race'; you really want more feelings of personal peace, achievement and autonomy.

That’s a great start. But is it enough to keep you going through the tough days? These are the ones where everything seems to take longer than it should, and any results you do get always seem to be going in the opposite direction to your dreams.

Some would say yes. But I’d say it’s a little more complicated.

Because our motivation doesn’t exist in a vacuum, but sits alongside our deeper human needs.
And this is where Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs helps us see what’s really going on.

4. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Motivation

Maslow was a psychologist, and he described five levels of human motivation, with each one building on the last:

1. Physiological – Meeting basic survival needs (food, shelter, paying bills)
2. Safety – Wanting stability and security (steady income, reliable systems)
3. Love and Belonging – Building connection and community (like we have here at WA)
4. Esteem – Recognition, confidence, and respect (being seen as capable and valued)
5. Self-Actualisation – Purpose, creativity, contribution (doing what truly fulfils you)

Once you know which level you’re operating from, you can see what’s really driving you, and what might be holding you back.

Not everyone currently reaches self-actualisation, and many people are stuck in the level of safety and security or the physiological level, especially if they have experienced trauma that has not been understood or worked on. These people spend most of their days fighting for survival, struggling with poverty and lack, or living with enormous levels of fear and stress. For them, life seems to be a constant struggle.

Understanding where you are currently operating from on this pyramid will allow you to honestly look at your life and see where there are changes you need to make, if you want to move forward and progress up the pyramid. And there are always things that you can do to move out of these levels, but you may need to change your mindset, get some help or change your approach to do so.

5. The Myth of Willpower

I know we’ve all heard it: “You just need more willpower.” I've said it to my children often, and usually regretted it, as it just really showed my own lack of compassion and understanding. Now, don't get me wrong. I think willpower is important - very important to many, especially in online business, but I don't think it's the only thing that can help because here’s the truth: willpower is like a muscle. It gets tired, can have off-days, and doesn't work if you feel disconnected from the things you are doing, stressed or disinterested.

It can help with short-term focus, but it’s also affected by your level of stress, fatigue, and current emotions.
It can be inconsistent, which is why most motivation coaches work on other things first. Once those things are mastered, then you will find it easier to connect to your willpower.

That’s why your deeper why matters so much.

When you’re emotionally connected to something meaningful, you will find that you no longer need the 'stick'. You won’t need to keep pushing yourself because you will want to do things. You may find that you begin to feel pulled forward instead of being kicked painfully from behind.

That’s alignment with your desires.

For example, if I try to get my children up in the morning to go to school (both have special needs), then it's often a struggle and very stressful. However, when they want to get up and go somewhere (e.g. a theme park), then they are usually up an hour and a half early and telling me, "Hurry up, we're going to be late..."

6. Self-Image, Congruence, and Belief Systems

Carl Rogers talked about congruence, which is the convergence of who you believe you are and your ideal self (who you want to become).

If there’s a gap between your current self and your ideal self, you’ll always feel a tug-of-war inside.
That’s where limiting beliefs hide, because they affect who we believe we are. If you believe things like “I’m not good enough” or “I’m not confident enough,” those beliefs quietly sabotage your progress.

But when you begin to see yourself as the person you’re becoming — not the one you used to be — things can start to shift. Now you may need to change in order to make this happen, but once you do, you can begin to make choices and do things that align with your future ideal self and not your fears, which have been holding you back.

7. Practical Steps – Turning Insight into Action

Here’s how to start applying all this to your business and daily life:

Step 1: Discover your real “why”

Ask yourself:

• What am I really trying to feel?
• What would I still do even if no one paid me?
• How do I want to make others feel?
• What is my ultimate goal in life?

Step 2: Understand your current situation

Which level of Maslow’s hierarchy are you operating from? Be honest here - brutally honest. Are your thoughts dominated by survival, stability, belonging, or purpose? When you bring those needs into your true awareness, you can begin to understand them and take steps to change.

Step 3: Challenge your limiting beliefs

Begin to identify what your limiting beliefs are - what do you say to yourself in your quietest moments? Are you helping or hindering yourself with these thoughts?

Now we will tackle limiting beliefs in a future episode, but for now, start identifying what they are and bringing them from your subconscious into your conscious understanding. Each small success builds congruence between your current and ideal self.

Step 4: Create routines that support your focus

As I've mentioned before, commitment, consistency, and patience are all great virtues which will help you tackle your day-to-day work with purpose. Think about:

• Set SMART goals that are realistic
• Content creation time - set aside time and stick to it
• Reflection or journalling - look at what's working and change what is not
• Meditation or visualisation - try to bring what you want into sharper focus - but make sure you feel the difference, not just visualise it
• Accountability or learning groups - tell others what you want to achieve, and be accountable for it. This doesn't mean beating yourself up, but it does mean having someone on your side to celebrate your wins and chivvy you up when you need it

Discipline is easier when it’s built on your true purpose.

8. Some takeaways

In this episode, we've discussed why your WHY is your superpower. But hopefully, I've made you think that it is a little more complex than you first thought.

Your why is your superpower because it connects logic with emotion, and purpose with persistence.

When you understand what truly drives you, and align that with who you want to be and are becoming, you can stop chasing a motivational ideal and start living with purpose on a daily, consistent basis. And you will be amazed at the difference in how that feels compared to doing things out of duty or fear.

Next episode

Next time in Business Mindset Matters, we’ll explore why you should move from comparison to inspiration.

Until then, keep aligning your goals with your heart. That’s where real success starts.

Please let me know how you are getting on in the comments, too.

All the best,

Gail