“Why” is a Great Motivator

March 5, 2022

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5

Developing a passion for something gives birth to many great ideas. Passions make people want to invent new products, create helpful organizations, or find better ways to do different things more efficiently. The drive to do more also includes relationships with ourselves and other people. We can be driven to build an amazing life with the person we want to marry, or conquer overeating and other bad habits that affect our health negatively.

In any area of our lives, including the ones we are passionate about, times will come and go when we don’t feel like doing what we need to do for our desired results. It may not matter in some ways, but it matters a great deal in other ways.

Scripture tells us that diligence will lead us to those important goals, but trying to make the goals happen quickly, maybe even forcefully, will cause our situations to lack what we are working for.

We can’t lose weight by starving ourselves. That only causes us to lose our health in other ways.

We can’t find new ways of efficiency if it causes another area to become more difficult.

We can’t force marital bliss if we don’t work through issues that threaten to drive a wedge between us and our companion.

We can’t hurry what naturally takes time to develop and improve. And because of this truth, we will find times when we’re bored with the process, impatient with the progress, and frustrated with the amount of hard work our endeavor requires.

It is during those times that we must stop and remember why we are doing what we are doing.

Because we live in a world that offers fast results due to certain products, we become impatient with longer processes, even though they are the natural way things normally progress.

Technology has given us the ability to send a message across the world to a recipient, taking less than a minute for the process to be completed. Years ago, it might take ten days for that same message to reach its recipient, the postal service being the best option for delivery.

Dinners no longer need to heat for an hour in the oven. Microwaves have substantially reduced cooking times.

Even though we’ve become accustomed to things happening speedily, many things that matter deeply take time to develop. It is during our times of frustration at the lengthy process that we must remember why we are doing what we are doing.

Why have we changed our diet?

Why have we created a new method of operation for something?

Why have we changed some of our habits and ways of thinking with our companion?

Because we are working toward something better.

Wherever we are in our commitments to change, we must be prepared for those downtimes that discourage us. They too are part of the process. We can’t forget how far we’ve already come, and we must remember why we’re reaching for a greater goal.

Our discomfort in growth will be worth it all when we reach the goal. On our days of discouragement, we need to look back to our “whys” and then, carry on.

46
Get biweekly updates on CSFI
Be the first to know when CSFI has a new story to tell.
Thank you for subscribing!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.