Did you know that behind every single thing we do, there is a driving force or motive?  What is a motive?  Webster’s Dictionary defines a motive as “Something (as a need or desire) that causes a person to act”.  We work because our jobs are what provides our paychecks. We go to school because we know it is vital in order for us to function in society.  We exercise because we want to be healthier. We eat and drink because our bodies require food and water to live.  These are all basic motivations and responses; but what about the things we do that are not so natural or necessary to living?

      What kind of motivations and actions am I  talking about?  Why do we choose the career we choose?  Perhaps because it was a career that would provide us with the lifestyle we wanted, or was it because that career field was actually something we wanted to do, or both?  Why do we marry the spouses we marry?  Because that person had the qualities we always wanted in a spouse, or because it was convenient and what worked at the time? Why do we say yes or no to situations we agree or disagree with?  Do we say yes to things because we actually approve of them, or are we saying yes because it is the easier answer?   Do we do what we do because we really believe in what we are doing and know it is the right thing to do, or are we doing it because someone else expects us to, or because it is something that will make us look good?  Do we say what we say because we believe with absolute conviction that what we are saying is true, or because it is what we have been taught to say, or just what we felt like saying at the moment?  When we do what we do is it because of a need or a desire, does it depend on the moment, or who are friends are or who we really are?

      From the time we were children, we were taught that regardless of what our actions were, there were always consequences.   However, our choices (which are directed by our motives) don’t only affect our lives-but others as well.   I believe that is why it so very important to know the motives of our own hearts and why exactly it is that we do what we do; because everything we choose to do sends a message to someone in our lives.  What do we believe about life, others and ourselves that causes us to do what we do?  What message is your life sending?  Are your choices (again directed by our motives) sending the message of what truth, honor, courage and integrity really are?

      I am currently challenging myself to honestly look at the motives in my own heart that cause me to do what I do and any area that is motivated by selfish intentions, I am purposing to change; because the motivating forces in our lives that establish behaviors and patterns, healthy or not; will be passed down to our next generation and the ones after that.  

                                                                      Copyright Divine Potential 2009