You may not care, but I’ve lost about 15 pounds in the last month. Many would say that’s pretty impressive. I must say that I’m pretty happy with the results. I’m not exactly to my goal yet, but I’m seeing change.
Have you ever wondered what it takes for us to make change happen?
Many of us recognize things in our life that need changed. I would be willing to bet you could list 3 of them off the top of your head right now. You want to get to bed earlier. You want to exercise more. You want to read more of the Bible. You want to be a better parent. You’d like to break a habit. Or maybe you’d like to start a good one. The magical question is “HOW?”
I don’t claim to be an expert. But I do think I’ve discovered the secret ingredient that plays a huge part in making change actually happen. It’s the secret ingredient that has helped me lose a little weight. It’s also the secret ingredient that helped me complete writing my first book a couple months ago.
Ready?
Motivation. Oh, now you’re thinking I’ve just wasted your time. Because of course you need motivation if you want change. That’s a “duh” answer. I don’t think it is, though.
Think about it. I’m not talking about a reason here; I’m talking about real motivation. Reason is why you probably should do or not do something. But real motivation is why you need to do or not do something. How many people know there’s a good reason for them to eat healthier but then don’t actually make real change until they have a bad doctor’s appointment or even heart attack? How many people know they need to be closer to God but then seem to only do something about that when it’s clear they need something from God?
It never ceases to amaze me how many of us (yes, us!) procrastinate. It’s not something we’re often particularly proud of. But we work best under pressure, don’t we? Or is it that in that moment of last-minute pressure our motivation has kicked up? The importance of the project hasn’t changed. Our level of motivation (or need) to get it done has.
So here’s what I’m offering. Think about the change that you want to experience in your life. It could be anything in any area of your life. Why is it so important that you make that change happen? Maybe you should write it out. And as you’re writing, allow me to sit across the table from you in your imagination arguing that it really doesn’t matter. Then argue back with me why it really does.
See, we often argue ourselves out of making decisions we know we should do. And we do this because we haven’t truly accounted for what’s at stake. When you see the long term results or possibilities suddenly you’ll find that you’ve discovered the secret ingredient to starting that change in your life.
Clearly there are other ingredients to real, lasting change. I think motivation is crucial. But what are some of the other ingredients that you see as important to the mix as well? Do you think motivation is something we can control?