Your Why

You know that quiet force that gets you out of bed before dawn? The one that helps you swallow the stress of a thousand reqs, the hiring manager’s impossible demands, the candidate who ghosted after three perfect interviews?  

That’s your why.  

For most of us, it’s rooted in something raw and real:  

Maybe it’s providing for your kids so they never feel the pinch you once knew.  

Maybe it’s building financial security after years of uncertainty.  

Maybe it’s proving to yourself against every doubting voice that you are capable of extraordinary things.  

Your why is deeply personal, fiercely guarded, and runs like an underground river beneath the surface of your daily grind.  It’s why you push when others quit.  

But then comes the noise of their "what."  

"What’s taking so long to fill this role?"  

"What is their accident history?"  

"What school did they even go to?"  

Their "what" is shallow. Reactive.  

Born of panic, impatience, or habit.  

It’s the noise threatening to mute your truth.

This is where you must remember, Your why runs deeper than their what.  

In food service Talent Acquisition, this clash isn’t theoretical it’s your Monday morning.  

You are told to find a selector who can lift 100 pounds and master warehouse software overnight.  

To hire drivers with flawless records for routes that punish both body and spirit.  

To attract sales consultants who can woo chefs on entry level pay.  

Their “what” fixates on paper credentials, speed over sustainability, and surface traits that look good in reports but crumble in the real world.  

But your “why”? It knows better.  

You have seen the selector whose precision prevents tons of food waste keeping shelves stocked for families counting pennies.  

The driver whose kindness during a delayed delivery saves a restaurant’s dinner service.  

The sales consultant who spots a client’s unspoken need for affordable, local produce and builds loyalty no degree can guarantee.  

Your why sees the human impact behind the job description.  

You don’t just fill roles you build the backbone of how communities eat.  

Yet the noise persists.  

Policies feel rigid.  

Demands escalate.  

This is when you choose mindset leverage over machine overhaul.  

You are not changing the system overnight.  

You are helping others remember why the system matters.  

You work within the walls but shift the weight.  

When a warehouse manager insists on five years of specific system experience, you anchor in your truth:  Your why runs deeper than their what.  

You pivot the conversation:  

“Let’s look at candidates who have thrived in fast paced, physical roles. The systems can be taught  but reliability under pressure? That is what keeps food moving.”

When a driver’s application is judged solely on the company they are leaving, you ask:  

“What does their long haul experience tell us? Have they safely navigated tough routes and weather? That is more than a number that is guardianship.”  

When sales directors overlook non degreed candidates, you reframe:  

“Let’s consider how they build relationships. Can they read a client’s unspoken needs, think on their feet, and represent our values? That feeds restaurants."  

This is mindset leverage in action.  

You turn rigid checklists into purpose driven conversations.  

You prove through retention data, success stories, and instinct that hires chosen for why (the selector who knows her work feeds schools, the driver who owns his role as the last protector of freshness) outlast those hired for what.  

Their panic about speed?  

You answer with stories of waste prevented by careful hands.  

Their obsession with credentials?  

You counter with reps who saved accounts by listening deeply and serving wisely.  

In the end, policies remain.  

Leaders come and go.  

But when you operate from this truth that your why runs deeper than their what something shifts.  

The machine still hums,  

but now others hear its heartbeat.  

Selectors become hunger preventers.  

Drivers become guardians of freshness.  

Sales consultants become community nurturers.  

The goal was never to break the machine.  

It was to help it remember its soul.  

So when the noise rises again..  

"What’s the status?"  

"What’s the cost?"  

"What’s the shortcut?"  

You touch your why.  

You breathe.  

You build.  

You remember:  

You are not just filling jobs.  You are nourishing the world.  

And that truth does not just run deeper, It outlasts every "what" they’ll ever shout.  

ღ Chi