Th.7.9.15...Motivation...Prov.30:15-33

In today's reading we come across five numerical proverbs. Each of them begin with a poetic expression- "There are three things..." Then a fourth is added. Obviously it's not because he forgot such at first; it's just a poetic device. (Reminds me of the man who said, "There are three kinds of people in this world; those who can count and those who can't:) These numerical proverbs focus largely on God's amazing animal world. They reveal many life lessons to those who will study such. The one that especially grabs my attention is found in 30:18-19. "There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a maiden." What do they all have in common? Invisible propulsion. They are all invisibly empowered or motivated, especially that infatuated man:)

What motivates you? It's a fascinating topic indeed. What motivates people to buy, to work hard, to lose weight, to work out, to stop a bad habit, to join a team that stretches them? What does it take to motivate a person to do something they know they should do, but have procrastinated doing?  This is a daunting subject. Even Agur, who wrote this proverb on motivation said, it's "too amazing for me..I do not understand." Though we may never be able to unscrew the inscrutable, there are things that researchers and reflection have discovered regarding motivation.

Let's begin our motivational talk with the subject of procrastination. Why do we procrastinate? Don't tell me you are a procrastinator. That's not true. There are only certain things that you procrastinate doing; other things you are still highly motivated to do. You may procrastinate on your taxes because you are not good at them. But there are actually people on this planet who are good at such and enjoy preparing returns. It's a game to them. So how can you muster up the motivation to do a task you dread? If you're not good at it, you probably never will be very motivated. So see if you can delegate it or swap tasks with someone else. Does your new bride procrastinate house cleaning? News flash! She probably always will. Get used to the mess or clean up after her or hire a maid. Celebrate her strengths and learn to live with her weaknesses. She has to do the same with you. 

Are there ways to increase your motivation? Yes, but recognize that motivation is tied closely with your energy levels, which rise and fall over the course of the day. All of you are motivated to blog. You even committed to be unstoppable in this regard. But exhaustion at the end of a long day can weaken the best of good intentions. A few of you have told me, "I was planning on getting on the blog, but when I lied down, I never woke up until the next morning!" Jesus said it well, "The spirit is willing but the body is weak" Mt.26:41. Others of you are truly unstoppable. You know it's a matter of mind over mattress and you will stay up no matter how late it is to keep your commitment, "No Scripture, no sleep." I salute you! Here's another example- your best intentions to work out fade as your energy level does. That's why a lot of people work out and work on important goals first thing in the day. 

Here are three tried and true ways of increasing your motivation; yes, four that will help you improve.
First, picture and pen what you want to accomplish. Do you want to lose weight? How much? Write your goal down. Picture yourself attaining and enjoying that achievement. Imagination fuels determination.

Second, get positive. Bad moods sap your inner strength. Wallowing in doubts and lies about yourself will sabotage your success before you start.  Also change your "should" statements to "want to" statements. Don't say, "I should go to the gym." That's demotivating. Get positive. If you hired the best motivational coach, he would say a lot of positive things to you. Save the money! Start saying positive things to yourself. "By God's strength, I am unstoppable! When I fall down, I get up. I am an overcomer." Get positive. Happiness breeds motivation and success. Most people have it backwards, thinking that if they could just become successful, then they would be happy and motivated. 

Third, get positive peers to prompt you. That's why guys in the gym have a work out partner to push them on. That's why a lot of people who have lost a lot of weight first joined Weight Watchers. The people in those meetings cheered on their successes. That's why you have men in your fire team, cheering you on. We weren't built to live life alone and fight on our own. We were designed by God to be in a band of brothers. That's how Jesus operated. So glad you are with us!

Fourth, use positive rewards and negative consequences. God has wired us to respond to such. Thus, we celebrate your successes every week on the scoreboard and every month in our M3 meetings. Also use our Points for Progress columns to help you in this way. Give yourself positive points when you did what you aimed at doing and negative points when you didn't. Last week I said I was going to use Points for Progress to motivate me to keep my voice down when entering a dispute with my wife. Recently, we had our first dispute since then. At first, my voice and intensity raised, but when my wife pointed it out, I immediately lowered it with my goal and the points in mind. 

Last week Monday we talked about this proverb, "For lack of wood a fire goes out." Many of you wrote of things you wanted more or less of in your life. Then I asked you to list a few practical steps for attaining this. If you really want to achieve such, then get specific.  So don't say, "I should go to the gym more often and will try to eat better." What specifically will you do to get in better health? Here are a few examples- "I will go to the gym three times a week. I will not eat sweets six out of seven days a week." Getting specific helps to motivate you. Also experts recommend setting SMART goals-
Specific- I will walk vs. I will try to walk
Measurable- one mile vs. longer than I usually do
Action oriented- every day vs. more often than I have been
Realistic- in under 20 minutes vs. at world record speed
Time bound- starting today vs. starting when I have the time

But remember, if you don't add enough emotional wood, the fire will die out, even on your SMART goals. So if there is not "fire in the belly" to exercise, you may carry a belly. Sometimes, what you may need when the emotion fades is the ultimate motivator, championed by Nike, "Just do it!" When it's dark and cold early in the morning, and you'd rather not meet your buddies at the gym, "Just do it!" The motivation and good feelings will follow. When you'd rather not mow the lawn, "Just do it!" The mow-tivation will follow. When you'd rather not blog so late at night, "Just do it!" The strength of character will follow. Well done! You are unstoppable! You are becoming incredibly powerful while others are bemoaning their lack of motivation. Congratulations!

1.- What's one thing you want to accomplish in your life? Based on the above blog and any of your added thoughts, what would help you to achieve it? Get specific.

2.- Read Prov.30:15-33 and write out your verse on your MP3. 

An additional area I've chosen to be unstoppable in is handing out Greatest Mini-movies cards every day. I won't allow myself to go to bed without doing so. I recently had a great conversation with an employee named James at Mariono's. He was standing outside with no carts to collect, so I gave him a card. He watched two of the mini-movies while I was in shopping. That led to a good discussion when I came back out. Seeds have been planted! 

I really liked what Jack shared a couple days ago- "I have presented cards to a Christian man in Springfield, Missouri who wants to present it to his church, so we are extending beyond city, state, and even country walls with our great mission. I also am working on getting other New Life Pastors to jump on our band wagon." That's great vision and motivation Jack!