Motivation

What motivates people? External rewards like trophies, bonuses, and new toys tend to lose their glow eventually. Motivational speakers pump up their audiences with pep-talks, but after the conference is over, most people go back to their default settings.

I regularly make resolutions to live better. What motivates me to follow through on some of these and not others? Small successes are always en-couraging. If I start running and I’m able reach a goal that I’ve set for myself, it gives me a certain feeling of accomplishment. If my husband compliments me on how I look because of all the running, that further motivates me. If I hear of someone else my age who is training for a marathon, that inspires me. However, if my knees hurt, or the weather turns unfavorable, that dis-courages me (all my courage leaks out). So I've learned to set small, reachable goals with time parameters. Most of what motivates me are intrinsic factors--a sense of accomplishment and personal satisfaction. External recognition and peer pressure goad me to a lesser extent.

The first lawn mower we bought was a push mower. Someone had to stand behind it and use a lot of force to make it go forward. Then we got a self-propelled mower which was a lot easier to operate. We just had to walk behind it and mostly guide it. I used to wonder when my son would be more self-propelled like that mower. I notice that if he cares enough about something, he is willing to put aside everything else, until he accomplishes his goal.

I think that this is one of the keys to motivation--to really care about something enough to make it a priority--to be willing to give up everything else that is below that thing on your priority list. So when I’m not motivated to continue running toward my goal, it’s really because I don’t care enough about this goal to put up with the discomfort that comes along with it. I don’t care enough about it to give up my time for it.

Now, if only I could figure out how to make myself and others CARE enough…

Procrastination

A few years ago, my sister told me about the OHIO principle--Only Handle It Once. Whether it’s opening mail, paying bills, cleaning, or making an appointment, deal with it right away. In theory this sounds like a great plan.

I’m pretty good about replying to email and returning phone calls within 24 hours. (Unless, of course, I don’t like that person!) I usually don’t put off regular house cleaning, paying bills, exercising, writing blog posts, or doing taxes either.

I procrastinate about washing pots and pans after a meal, going to the dentist, dusting ceiling fans, shampooing carpets, purchasing big-ticket items and starting long-term projects. These are the things I really don’t want to do. Subconsciously, I’m hoping that if I stall long enough, someone else will take care of it, or I’ll just forget to do it, and it won’t really bother anyone.

Procrastination is just a delay tactic to avoid things we really dislike. The longer we wait, the more monumental the task feels. What starts off as a small unpleasant project that might take 30 minutes to do, turns into an all- day undertaking later. And obviously, if you didn’t want to take 30 minutes to do it a month ago, you sure don’t want to spend a whole day dealing with it now!

When I was a kid, I always ate my least favorite thing first and saved the best for last. I’ve tried to do that with chores, but the yucky chores seem to take forever, and I’m too exhausted and cranky to do anything after that. When we have several left-over dishes in the fridge, our family reluctantly sits down to a “left-over smorgasbord” meal. Maybe I could make a procrastination list--things that have been left over from my to-do list for several days. I could allot a few hours a week doing something on this list. Yes! I like that. I think I’ll wait till next week to start though…this week’s kinda busy ;-)

 

Collapsed Muffins

Most of my friends will attest to the fact that I’m not good at baking. I do have a few muffin recipes that come out ok. Recently, I tried to combine two of my favorite muffin recipes, thinking that it would be my ‘new and improved’ masterpiece. Well, they came out of the oven with their tops collapsed. I had to throw them all out.

I’m not sure what went wrong. Maybe my baking soda ratio was off? Maybe I filled the cups too much. Maybe the ingredients in the two recipes don’t work together. I was disappointed that I had wasted my time and all those ingredients. I went back to my old way of doing things. I resolved to never try that again.

I had the best intentions--take two good recipes and make an even healthier one. But as the poet Robert Burns said: “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Good intentions and detailed planning are no guarantee that you will reach the desired goal.

Whenever you try new things, there is always a risk of failure. Every dream has the potential to turn into a nightmare. Every time you reach beyond your grasp, there is a chance that you could fall on your face. Yes, I know I’m a pessimist.

I admire people who react to setbacks with a casual shrug. When they fall, they pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and try again. How can I cultivate this attitude in myself?

(If you are one of those people who are able push past failure, please comment or email me on how you do it.)

Philippians 4:13

As I was running the other day, I heard the song, “Strong Enough”, by Matthew West, on my mp3 player. I wasn’t paying close attention to the song until the last verse, which was this old-timey, sing-songy, version of Philippians 4:13-- “I can do all things, through Christ who gives me strength.”

Instantly, I was transported back to 1997, one of the darkest points of my life. Several different factors had come together and pushed me into a black hole that I couldn’t get out of, no matter how much I tried. I cried out to God. He took His own time, but eventually pulled me out.

I was a habitual Christian leading up to that point. I wasn’t really familiar with the Bible. I went to church every Sunday, where I heard Scripture being read and analyzed. I never remembered any of the verses that were read at church, but I always remembered the song lyrics. So during my time of trouble, it was lyrics to songs that came to mind:

I waited, for the Lord on High,
I waited, and He heard my cry.
He pulled me out of my despair
He taught me how to walk
From fear into security
From quicksand to the Rock.

I remembered bits and pieces of songs I had heard as a child. And then, from somewhere…this verse from Philippians-- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me…I don’t know if I read it, or heard it--but I just repeated this verse as I ran, 3 miles each day, pushing my toddler in a jogging stroller, through snow and ice.

Back to the present…15 years later. I hear this verse again as I am running. Christ has strengthened me. He has also comforted me, healed me, taught me, and guided me. At every point, He provided me with all I needed-- the right friends, a bit of a song, a book, a verse….until I felt His love, mercy and peace.

Morning Coffee

 
The first thing I think about as I get out of bed each morning is…COFFEE. I go through the motions of making my bed, brushing my teeth, noticing things that were left undone the day before…but my mind is locked-on to that first cup of coffee!

The other day, I laughed out loud when I read the following quote:

“Few people arise in the morning as hungry for God as they are for cornflakes or toast and eggs.” (Dallas Willard, Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God)

Ain’t that the truth!

Like a lot of people, I’m not really particular about breakfast. I have to remind myself to eat something in the morning. I’m just not very hungry and there seems to be a lot of other things to do. Yet, I never forget my coffee. On special days, (also known as every other day), I even treat myself to an extra cup.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I craved God as I do coffee? I would probably still make my bed, brush my teeth, and notice the things I need to get done each day, but my mind would be locked on to God. Nothing would take precedence over that need.

If I need to talk to my husband or a friend early in the morning, I’ve learned to ask them, “Have you had your coffee yet?” I’m considerate enough to know, that like me, their brain cells won’t work properly without that morning jolt of caffeine. I rarely ask, “Have you had your time with God yet?” By now, I should be aware that everyone functions better with the clarity that God’s Spirit provides.

Everything we have to do can wait until we have had our fill of God.

“As the deer longs for streams of water,
so I long for you, O God.
I thirst for God, the living God.
When can I go and stand before him?” (Ps. 42:1-2 NLT)

More on Doubt

A friend recently wrote the following sentences in an email to me: “I want God to exist, but my mind keeps asking how it's possible. Unlike you, I haven't had an experience of the presence of God.”

I think we have all experienced the presence of God. For years, I too couldn’t recognize God. I would explain away every divine moment by rationalizing it as either my imagination, indigestion, or a hot flash! I still do this a lot, partly because I’m a bit embarrassed and want to fit in. As long as I express skepticism, I’m more likely to be considered an intellectual and not some religious freak.

I could recount many different incidents from my life and point out God’s handiwork. Immediately after each occurrence, I sense, at a gut level, that this is of God. Yet later, I analyze and scrutinize it until my conviction dissipates into a vague mist.

After 20 some years of being around my husband, I’ve learned to recognize his handwriting. If you showed me a sample of his writing, I could say with a high level of certainty that it was his. Now, if you asked me if I could be a 100% sure that it wasn’t forged by an expert, I would start doubting my initial assessment. In the same way, we can learn to recognize God’s handiwork, to a certain degree, the more time we spend with Him. Yet, if we try to analyze every case as if it were a geometric proof, naturally our belief would start wavering.

Doubt

I heard an intriguing phrase, while listening to a podcast by Greg Boyd: God of the Gap Theology. He mentioned that many religions have a habit of forming their ideas about God based on the gaps we have in our knowledge. We point to what we can’t understand as proof of God’s existence. The problem with this form of theology is that as soon as science comes up with an explanation, God seems irrelevant.

In our attempt to explain God, we diminish His glory. I really don’t think we have the vocabulary or intelligence to prove God’s existence. Everything I write about faith is just my meager understanding of a God that is intricate beyond my intellectual capacity.

I think it’s important to admit that we can never comprehend, never be certain of everything there is to know about God.

George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury, said: “Do I doubt? Of course. Every thinking person doubts. The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty.”
 
Frank Logue explains this quote further: “Doubts and uncertainties may be God’s spirit leading us beyond the lesser truths where we have stopped along the way to a fuller understanding of who God is and how God acts in our lives.”

I am grateful to all these great thinkers who have explored the nooks and crannies of the unexplainable God.