What guns your engines? What gets you up in the morning and propels you into another day in the story of your life?
I believe everyone is motivated by one, two or three primary factors that provide a greater force than the entropy of life. Is there a love, a fear or a conviction for something that is worth giving your energy, your time and all you possess to pursue? What would you let go of last if you could hold on to only three things?
Knowing and expressing what really matters will both help focus and challenge us out of lethargy that can so easily grip our lives.
My Drivers: Faith, Love and Fear
- Faith. I want to know God, know Him and His thoughts about me. I want to understand His love and compassion for people. I want to embrace life and live dangerously for that which will not pass away.
- Love. It is too easy to pass through my day and neglect to live out of love and real thoughfulness for others. There’s a whole lot of me that gets in the way of reaching out to people. I desire to love my wife, children and friends more deeply. I want to be a person who gives cheerfully and serves with a willing heart.
- Fear. What becomes of oneself if in fact I callous my heart towards others, if I consume my life with the trivial, if I fixate on that which passes as quickly as the day? What if I just numb myself to pain, mine and others? What if I delude myself into thinking I’m okay to just turn a deaf ear to the pain of others? What then? Yep, that’s what I fear.
So What Drives You?
I ask this for two reasons:
- I have a real curiosity to know what drives people. Your drivers may look so very different from mine. I appreciate your feedback and honest thoughts. Know that I offer no judgment or criticism, just an honest question.
- I am doing research. In September, I will be presenting a message at our Church CedarRidge as a guest speaker and I want to learn from you, what motivates people. Our church is one that loves and accepts people for who and where they are in life. I’m not looking for a prettied-up response, just real life stuff. No matter your perspective on life, what you know, think and feel is valuable and instructive to me as I seek to present information that challenges people to love.
Thank you ahead of time for thinking about this question and gving your response. I value your thoughts. You are an interesting group of folks. I count it a privilege to interact with you and learn from your lives.
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7 Comments
I know I could never lose my faith in God – I’ve never doubted God’s existence and don’t want to be one of those people who don’t believe. Life would be so difficult to live if you didn’t have God to fall back on.
My other drivers would be love and curiosity. Every day you learn something new and that’s just an amazing discovery
Random, if I were to have listed a fourth, it certainly would be curiosity. Like you, I’m just fascinated by the new things I learn and see everyday. It is definitely a major driver in my life. Thanks for your excellent thoughts.
Great topic Phil!
The first thought that comes to mind as I reflect on this question is…
To care.
In addition to this, my curiosity, wonder, and questions keep me engaged!
I think there is a lot to be said by Mazlow’s heirarchy of needs… our motivators alter as we evolve!
Blessings to you my friend,
Jennifer
Hi Phil,
Thanks for this great questions!
Below are my drivers in life:
1. Duty
For me to be able to grant love to all those around me, I had to meet all my needs (not so much of wants) so that I could fulfilled my duty as a Christian, Husband, Father… Because of this, I constantly looking for means to improve myself such as reading from the Bible, Self-Improvement Books, etc. because I believe I can always be better than yesterday if God willing.
2. Legacy
I would want to leave a legacy to encourage everybody (especially to my children) that we can do all things if we believe and willing to do something about it.
3. Dream
By having great expectations, dreaming even those that is impossible, it moves me to look forward to greater heights every new day!
Best Wishes to you my friend
Jennifer, Caring about others, learning to love beyond ourselves is truly amazing feat when we are even willing to sacrifice our needs for those of another. Perhaps it’s something akin to self-actualization, but I believe the old saying, “Tis more blessed to give than receive” very much holds true. I hadn’t thought about Mazlow’s hierarchy in this context. Interesting. Great thoughts.
Sam, those are three great drivers. Duty, yes that is something I can see in you and identify with myself. Dream, yes we must never stop dreaming. The one that really stopped me in my tracks is legacy. That’s something that I think of in vague terms, but in the very long run is the only thing that will remain after we pass on to the next world. There’s a thought spark for you. Thanks.
Hi Phil, This is a post for me. I’m a wordy sort of human, as you now know. So give me a bit of time, and I’ll link back to you if that’s okay. I’ll enjoy the thought process…
Kelly, that sounds great. I look forward to what you have to say. If you want to post to your site, linking back that sounds great. Maybe comment back here to so folks can jump over and read your response. Suppa duppa!