Tap into the power of ‘WHY?’

Understanding ‘why?’ and ‘why not?’ can be the key to improvement.

This article was originally published in September 2019 in ProView Magazine, a publication by the BC Committee of the Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance. Download the original article HERE.

Business coaches talk about the importance of ‘understanding your WHY’ and using this insight as a tool to propel your career or business to the next level.  It’s about digging deep and discovering what drives and motivates you.  Understanding where your spark comes from can help you tune into it and create a long-lasting fire that will help you to overcome any obstacles in your path.

In my opinion, equally as important as knowing your ‘WHY?’ is discovering your ‘WHY NOT?’.  Your ‘why not?’ is that feeling of self-doubt that creeps up. You may not even know it’s there, but it can hold you back.  It comes in many forms; procrastination, habit, distraction, lack of motivation, and fear are a few.  Your ‘why not?’ can get in your way and prevent you from achieving your goals – if you let it.

The power of ‘WHY?’ can also be applied to athletic achievement, performance, and learning.

‘Why are you taking a lesson today?’ is one of the first questions we ask our clients as we establish our Learning Contract and set goals for the lesson.  The answers give us a clue as to the student’s motivation and typically fall into one of several categories: improve, gain confidence, or explore new terrain.  Gotcha!  Answers in hand, you take it from there.  Not so fast!

Have you ever had a conversation with a young child who keeps asking ‘why?’ in response to all your answers?  This question, repeated several times leads you to dig a little deeper, to try and explain more, to share more than you had originally intended.  By taking this tactic with your students, you can find their spark and help them to nurture it by designing a situation that meets their unique needs. 

Now, I’m not suggesting that you start each lesson with an interrogation!  I am suggesting that you don’t take the initial answer at face value.  Dig a little deeper.  Your job as their instructor is to understand why they are taking a lesson and to deliver based on this expectation.  This is where gaining insight into your client’s ‘why not?’ can make all the difference in how you approach the situation to maximize your student’s ability to receive new information, try something new and ultimately achieve their goals. 

In his TED Talk ‘How Great Leaders Inspire Action’[i], Simon Sinek talks about The Golden Circle.  This circle helps to illustrate the importance of WHY? 

The outermost ring of the circle relates to WHAT you do - your actions.  HOW you do this is the middle ring.  At the core of the circle is your WHY.  WHY you do what you do, your purpose, your belief, your core desire.  Your spark. 

You can tell your students what to do, and you can show them how to do it but ultimately, their ability to understand and feel the cause and effect of ‘Why?’ will produce a change.

Now consider what happens if your student’s ‘Why Not?’ gets in the way.  There is a tipping point at which a person’s ‘Why Not?’ is too strong and overcomes their ‘Why?’  In these cases, your job involves reducing the power of ‘Why Not?’ so that learning can take place. 

The key to achieving results lies in understanding the balance between someone’s ‘Why’ and their ‘Why Not’.

‘What if I can’t do it?’

‘What if I look silly?’

‘What if people on the chair laugh at me?’

‘What if I Fall?’

‘What if I hurt myself?

Learning can’t take place unless the ‘Why?’ is stronger than the ‘Why Not?’

With this understanding, we are better able to set appropriate goals with our students.  By starting with ‘Why?’ and understanding ‘Why Not?’ we can create the ideal learning situation from the terrain we choose to the tools and tactics we use. 

Now, consider for a moment how this concept applies to us, as instructors:

In his TED Talk, Simon Sinek tells us ‘People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.’[ii]  What is your ‘Why?’ What is your purpose for teaching skiing?  What is your cause or belief?  Why are you there? 

By tuning into your ‘Why?’ you can inspire trust in your students – they want to come along on your lesson and they are confident in your guidance.  With this trust comes the feeling of safety and the willingness to try new things that will ultimately lead to lasting change.

This season, start with ‘Why?’ to inspire those around you.  Leverage your students ‘Why?’ while understanding their ‘Why Not?’, to create learning situations that achieve goals. 

[i] https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action#t-417

[ii] https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action#t-417