A Myth
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap
if we do not lose heart.” - Galatians 6:9
Motivation is a myth. You will never feel motivated for anything you don’t want to do. Unless the results of that action are something you want, you won't be motivated. Ask a child to do chores. Ask them to do chores with a desired reward. What shift in motivation do you see? We have the same shifts in our lives. My dad was never more motivated to quit smoking than when they found a spot on his lung. He lost his motivation when the doctor realized it was a mole. COPD was a major contributing cause of his death.
Motivation is just desire. Motivation is the action answer to the question: how badly do you want the product or result of your actions? Your desire can be for or against the result. Motivation is just a desire for a reward. If you can self-motivate, you can set goals with rewards you desire. Those rewards can make all the difference. The best training we can receive is in “self-motivation.” Even then, it is still just a myth, because it is just training your desires.
Those desires can be good or bad. Your personal desire can come from yourself, something, and/or someone. You may be motivated to work because you want to care for your family. That doesn’t mean that you love to work or enjoy your work, but you are still “motivated.” You may quit a habit because of what you saw in someone else's life or because you want to achieve something more. You may also be motivated to behave poorly because those around you encourage it or express enjoyment of it. It is a desire.
Your surroundings and faith influence your desires, and they can fluctuate. Christians often wait until they feel like it or are motivated to do God’s word. Yes, God gives us many rewards that should become what we desire. That should then motivate us. However, that is not always the case. When did you last feel motivated to read your Bible every day? Spread the gospel? Worship on Sunday evening? Go to a small group? Yet all of those are very needed. We need to understand that as humans on Earth in darkness and surrounded by the like, our desires are contrary to God’s. We have to learn to love and desire what God does. To do that, we have to do things that we don’t desire to do, things we don’t “feel” like doing, and things we don’t understand the reward of.
So, don’t wait till you “feel” like doing something to do it. You don’t need a reason either. You can do it. Desires come and go. The things that influence those desires do too. You do not have to have a good reason, feel like it, or even think the reward is worth it to act. Act, then let the feeling part come later. Act, and eventually, you’ll feel it, understand it, and become it. Too often, we try to understand and feel like doing something. The reality is, you can’t understand it or how it truly feels until you do it. Start doing the things God asks of you, and the rest will come. One day, you will look back and wonder why you didn’t start sooner. Do good!
- Steve Johnson
Comments