Category: motivation

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motivation

Stubbornness or Tenacity

a person stretching
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I could have been stubborn and refused to stop and heal my leg. And through this month, I’ve been tempted to get back out there and run, though my knee isn’t fully healed. But I know that further damage could force a longer recovery.

Tenacity has gotten me through some challenging circumstances. Crossing that line into stubbornness can only make things worse. I still believe I can train for a half-marathon in the future. There is still time. But refusing to change plans when setbacks happen is only going to delay my goal.

Be tenacious. However, don’t cross the line into simply being stubborn.

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motivation

Seeking Light in the Dark

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Nobody likes to be in the dark. Maybe that’s why most of us are hooked on our screens. We are addicted to the information they provide.

Whether big or small, screens dominate our lives. When a notification comes through, we can’t help but pick up our phones. We get a dopamine hit, then wonder if it was really worth it. Why did we fall for that clickbait again?

The more information we consume, the less certain we are in the light. One source says this method works, while another says the exact opposite. So we turn to artificial intelligence to sort through the mess and hope the algorithm doesn’t steer us wrong until it hallucinates and makes us wonder if it is any better.

Aren’t we all in the dark searching for a light? Maybe a fulfilling light isn’t found on our screens, but outdoors in the sunlight.

Screens give artificial light. Frequently, it’s about as satisfying as artificially flavored candy. It may taste sweet, but it isn’t the real fruit. We need the real thing.

Let’s put down our phones and turn off the TV. Go outside in the sun, maybe read an old book of wisdom or scripture. The artificial never truly satisfies.

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motivation

The Present and the Past

back view of a child in a yellow coat on bike in an autumn park
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The good news is we don’t have to be defined by our past. Yes, it was important, and it made us who we are today. But each morning gives us a restart.

That’s good news for those of us with regrets (and if we have no regrets, we played it too safe).

The challenge for today is to learn from the past and make it the best possible day. We can be defined by what we do today. There is no resting on laurels here. Sure, we can take our past skills and what we’ve learned from the past. But let the regrets go.

Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today.
Let us begin.—Mother Theresa

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motivation

Detours and Roadblocks

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Nobody likes them, but we all experience them. They seem to hold us back from reaching our goals. They may stop us from getting what we want or need. But maybe they are an essential part of our lives.

Without detours, we might miss out on discovering something vital for our growth. We could even realize it was the turning point in something incredible.

But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee.
And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth.
Matthew 2:22–23

Joseph and Mary experienced them too. They must have been annoying at the time. But the detours were all part of the plan.

You never know what a detour might reveal. As Ryan Holiday maintained in his book, the obstacle might be the way.

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motivation

Men Without Chests

father teaching his son how to ride a bike
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We make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise.
C. S. Lewis in  The Abolition of Man

What do we expect of men today? I read and hear stories about a crisis of manhood. And then I see men trying to display their manhood with big trucks, macho attitudes, and a disdain for anything that hints of femininity.

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