What is driving you?
What is your motivation? What drives the things you do on a regular basis?
Sadly, many of us have settled for an adulthood driven by negative factors.
You might be driven by guilt that you are not a good enough parent.
Maybe anger drives your college education because you are mad at yourself for not planning your future better or upset your parents didn’t get you a better start in life.
Perhaps fear motivates your careful budgeting because you never know what the future holds and you don’t want to be left out in the cold.
Over all these, I would imagine most people are driven by a less noticeable factor: obligation.
Do you go to work because you “have to” to survive? Do you do the dishes or laundry because you have to?
Duty and faithfulness can appear as noble virtues. However, if you are hollowed out inside with a sense of sticking to your rut because that is what life requires of you, then you’ll have little joy or hopefulness in the journey.
Somewhere you began with the right desires, at least I hope so. Why continue being driven by what drains you of life?
What brings you joy and meaning in life? What is your purpose or mission you would love to accomplish if nothing else could hold you back?
Do you spend most of your time doing things you “have to” or things you want to? Sometimes you don’t need to change anything you are doing but simply revisit why you are doing it.
Other times, you need to dump the fear-based activities, the angry decisions you are living, or the guilt-empowered actions that will never dig you out of your self-dissatisfaction.
Changing your motivations doesn’t suddenly make all the flowers bloom around you. But, once you reconnect with the positives, you’ll find your soul blooming with spring-fresh fragrance no matter what your situation in life.
Experience a new life by loving your family enough to do those daily tasks, letting hope leading you forward to invest and save, drive your education with the joy of learning and growing, and embracing that forward-looking force of “want to” in whatever you do.
To really see the menial tasks and daily grind with hope and vigor, we have to have the mind of Christ.
I don’t see Jesus saying, “I hate this life, but it’s the one I was handed.”
He said, “I must be about my Father’s business.”
He saw joy in the death He would offer for our sakes.
He stopped Simon from speaking negative about the unpleasant task before Him.
He taught in such a way as to transfer His joy to His followers (John 15:11).
What if you were a slave and had no control over your daily life? The Scripture encourages us that even in that situation, we should do what we must do “from the heart” as a kindness to King Jesus and not just to please others who might be watching us (Ephesians 6:6).
So, what is driving you? What moves you forward in all you do?
Quit doing those things you are doing from the negative force, the dark side.
If they can be redeemed with joy and hope and love and power from above, then do them from that place this time. If they cannot, stop them altogether.
What are some negative drives you have detected in your life and how can those be replaced by the life-force from above?