Fear Is A Poor Motivator

Fear works. You can use it to get things done and to exert control over yourself and others. 

That doesn’t mean it’s the best or most effective strategy. 

You could walk from New York to LA, but there are more efficient and effective modes of transportation.

Fear based obedience is like walking. It might get you there, but it’s a giant waste of energy and a poor motivator. 

If you’re using fear as your primary motive, here are three effects you should see: 

1. Your motivation will lose power over time. Fear is an intense and draining emotion. You can only deal with it for so long. It eventually becomes exhausting. Slowly, you become too tired to care and indifferent to what happens. Fear based motivation is short-lived.

2. Admitting, learning and moving on from mistakes will be more difficult. You’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to do things wrong. That’s life. If you’re motivated by fear, you’ll have difficulty owning up to it when you do. You’ll fear reprisal and punishment for not living up to the standard. You’ll be tempted to rationalize and shift blame. 

3. You’ll have trouble enduring hardships. You’ll think that life is unfair and that you’re owed something better when difficulty comes. In other words, despair and bitterness will be the result of suffering if your motivation is fear based. 

Fear is a wimpy motivator. It’s not strong enough to carry you through. Fear might get you moving, but you’re going to need something more to reach the finish line. 

What’s that something more? 

Grace.  

Everything you have and everything you are is a result of grace. You don’t deserve it. It is a gift from God. 

When understood, this should become the greatest and most sustaining motivator in life. 

It is the complete opposite of fear. 

Grace’s becomes a stronger motivator over time. The more you realize and understand that everything in your life is a gift the more grateful you become. The more grateful you are, the more motivated you are to honor that gift with your life. 

Grace provides ground for you to own up to your mistakes without fear. If you're saved by grace, through faith, and everything in your life is because of God’s mercy, then you have nothing to fear from admitting your weakness. You’ll be more likely to share your struggles, learn from, and conquer them. 

Grace will carry you through the hard times. It will be the stone your feet find beneath the quick sand and troubles of this life. It will hold you up and keep you from drowning in despair. If God owns everything, then you are a steward. How you steward things displays your gratitude to God. 

Success Is Often Found On The Other Side of Drudgery

I’m not sure why inspiration waxes and wanes like the ocean tide. It just does. At least that's been my experience. There isn’t a big ‘a-ha!’ every time I sit down to work. Sometimes work is inspired play, it comes easy and fills my heart with joy. Other times it’s a battle of perseverance, that has me barely hanging on. 

But, I charge on, and so should you. All things worthy of our aim require great effort. We're going to have to roll up our sleeves and get things done the old fashioned way. 

We have to push through dry spells until at last inspiration strikes and work becomes play once more. We must soldier on, showing up each day. 

I wish I had something more uplifting and encouraging for you today, but this is all I have. A message to hang in there, and trust the process. 

It’s a lifetime thing becoming the painter, photographer, writer or whatever you want to be. “Nothing else matters,” Steven Pressfield said, “except sitting down every day and trying.” 

Go to bed a little earlier tonight, set your alarm across the room and get up tomorrow, ready to hone your craft once more and try. That’s all you can ask of yourself. 

Who's Responsible For Your Health?

Your health is your responsibility. It’s not mine, your neighbor’s or the government's. 

It is 100% yours. 

You are responsible for it. 

Don’t shrug off that responsibility or give it away. 

Own it. 

After all, you’re the one who has to live with it day in and day out. 

The sooner you accept this, the sooner you can start making the changes necessary to ensure that you’re in the best possible shape. 

Before you get to the changes in diet, exercise, and routine, you’ve got to tackle this change of mindset. 

As long as you think your health is someone else’s responsibility you’ll never grow or improve. In short, you’ll be stuck with the same health issues you’ve always had. 

Exercise or Training?

Training has a specific goal or destination in mind. You form and structure your workouts around reaching your goals. Goals are paramount. If something doesn’t get you closer to them, it’s disregarded. It’s all about getting results and you only have time for those things that produce them. 

Exercise is the opposite. 

Training takes the long-term view. It designs each day’s workout around goals. Every set and every rep moves you closer and makes you better. 

Exercise requires less commitment, feels less risky, and requires little of you. Training requires forethought, planning, and accountability to results. 

Discipline takes the long-term view and training is the preferred approach. It is planned, structured and delivers results time and again. 

Exercise or training? 

Why Don't We Eat What We Know We Should?

Your health and life aren’t determined by what you know, but rather by what you actually do. Knowledge is great but it’s the actions you take that matter more. No area is this more apparent than in what we eat.  

We know most of our food should come from good, whole, nutritious sources. Things like fruits, veggies, and whole grains. 

We also know that we should avoid processed meats and foods. Things like pecan wheels, Oreos, and deli meat. 

But we don’t. At least not on a large scale. 

And many of the illnesses and health issues we face are a direct result. 

“For the first time in history,” Michael Pollan said, “man has created a diet that makes him sick.” 

We know the right things to do, but fail to act. Why? 

The answer: Discipline. 

We lack the discipline to make good food choices.

We lack the strength of will to say, “No,” to the sugary lies the entice us to pick up the donut instead of the apple or hand full of almonds. 

Health, happiness, and fulfillment are often by products on the road to discipline. Take that path. You’ll be glad you did.