Level One – To avoid pain. If they ask, “What happens if I don’t do it?” they are behaving to avoid pain due to the disruption of a need, physical or psychological.
Level Two – For respect or reward from one another. If they ask, “What do I get if I do it?” they are behaving to gain approval or reward from the significant others they have placed in their quality world.
Level Three – For respect of self. If they ask, “Who will I be if I do it?” they are behaving for respect of self, to become the person they aspire to be.
Have you ever been in a situation where you deliberately did something that actually caused you pain or interfered with approval or reward from others? Have you spoken out in favor of an unpopular cause or defended someone under attack? Why would you do this when the result appears to be pain, social censure, or perhaps financial loss? Why did you behave this way? What belief were you protecting? What kind of person were you being?
Source: Diane Gossen, Author of It’s All About We (page 25)