~ A guest post by Matt Pavlik on the power of why and commitment for reaching your goals. ~
A commitment without a clear why is only an empty promise. But by using the power of why you can be unstoppable. When you know why you want a goal, you can use the power of sacrifice in order to reach your goal.
Anything worth reaching for requires sacrifice. Making a sacrifice isn’t something to enter into hastily. Without an attractive goal and a realistic plan, you probably won’t be willing to give up anything. But after you know why you want something it empowers commitment within you. This commitment can be your ticket to accomplishing something great.
When you have a cause you fully believe in, the power of commitment will get you where you want to go. Commitment becomes easier as you realize you are trading up. You sacrifice what is valuable for something of far greater value. You might give up a sleek sports car for a better education for your child. You might live in a smaller home so you can give more to your local church. You might eat less so you can enjoy a physically fit body.
“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” ― Theodore Roosevelt
Pursuing challenges beyond your current ability makes life more interesting and worth living.
Pursuing challenges beyond your current ability makes life more interesting and worth living. Share on X
A Recipe for Greatness
What will motivate you out of complacency and into action? You need to be intimately connected to the reason God created you. What is the most important value that you’d never compromise? My core purpose is to make God’s truth real in people’s lives. What’s yours?
Adversity propels you out of complacency and into what matters most in life. Sometimes that stress can be self-inflicted but still a healthy choice. You close the door on all ways of escape, except one: the way forward. For example, you might step out in faith by quitting your job and taking one that pays less but aligns with God’s call on your life. Jesus said, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39 ESV).
Unless we have to, we won’t choose to suffer, even for a good cause. For example, NASA suffered a setback during its Apollo 13 mission. When NASA’s main spacecraft malfunctioned, they committed to finding a way to repair it and bring home its three-astronaut crew. At that moment, necessity was the mother of invention. They worked night and day to save three lives. Valuing teamwork was their why.
Commitment means an intentional focus on a goal simultaneously letting go of whatever stands in your way and is less important. Giving up what is less important allows you to focus your energy on your primary goal.
Think of climbing a three-mile-high mountain.
- If you don’t know why you want to climb it, what are your chances of reaching the top?
- When you become exhausted, what would stop you from turning around and walking back down?
- What would have to be at the top to motivate you to make a commitment to reaching the top?
Whatever your goals are, you need to evaluate your commitment. Both when you’re receiving a benefit and when you receive nothing as a reward for your commitment. It’s easier to stay committed when you are receiving a reward, right?
- But do you have a compelling reason even in the absence any clear benefit?
- What principle will you never compromise?
The devil tempted Jesus, but He never lost His integrity.
If you want nothing more than what you already have, there’s no reason to climb. Little or no effort is required. But if you want to go higher, you need a plan and you need to know what it’s going to cost you. What would it take for you to give up a basic happy life? Does anything matter more to you?
Let’s explore commitment to God’s kingdom, marriage, and health.
A Recipe for God’s Kingdom
If you’re a believer, are you committed to a better kingdom? Why? What does your commitment cost you?
Following Jesus is going to a cost you something. You can build your own kingdom, or you can build God’s kingdom. You can’t do both and the difference between the two is your attitude.
If you hold onto your worldly wealth for your own comfort, that’s finding your life rather than losing it. However, you can hold onto worldly wealth for kingdom purposes. That’s being wise with what God has provided for you. That’s making a deposit into God’s eternal bank instead of a deposit into your temporary bank of personal fulfillment.
Why you’re following Jesus is what empowers your commitment.
Why you're following Jesus is what empowers your commitment. Share on X
A Recipe for Marriage
If you’re married, are you committed to a better marriage? Why? What does your commitment cost you?
Marriage requires many different skills to be successful, but some are more foundational than others. Because marriage is so difficult, a commitment to growth is required to make it work. A marriage is only as healthy as the two individuals in it. If you want a strong marriage, you must grow as an individual.
Being married is different than being single. The first thing you absolutely sacrifice when you get married is the attitude, lifestyle, and mindset of a single person. Having hobbies when you’re married is healthy, but your hobbies can’t be more important than your marriage.
Marriage means building intimacy with one person like no other. To accomplish this, you must give up all “plan B” options. Failure isn’t an option. Divorce isn’t an option. Workaholism isn’t an option.
Why you’re committed to your marriage empowers you to reach your relational goals.
Why you're committed to your marriage empowers you to reach your relational goals. Share on X
A Recipe for Health
Are you committed to a better self? Why? What does your commitment cost you? You are an essential part of God’s plan. Your health matters.
When you sacrifice for a more important cause, this doesn’t mean you sacrifice your personal health. Don’t let your commitment to greater things become an excuse to “let yourself go” emotionally, spiritually, or physically. It’s not good for you and it’s a poor example to others.
You can sacrifice some of your desires and maintain your health as you rely on Jesus as your strength. If a mother were to give up her health for her daughter, then the daughter will probably do the same when she has children. That’s unhealthy living across endless generations.
Instead, allow God to minister to you, and receive His comfort. Then you have the ability to comfort others. Spend time on yourself to receive the help you need. Looking at your need for growth is part of the worthwhile effort, pain, and difficulty noted by Roosevelt.
Why you’re committed to your health will empower you to practice good self-care.
Why you're committed to your health will empower you to practice good self-care. Share on X
A Recipe for Sucess
Some things are too important to sacrifice completely. Most of the time your individual growth and health fall in this category of too important. But this all depends on what you place at the highest peak of your mountain. What is your ultimate achievement? Would you and God choose the same things? Priorities can change so it’s helpful to review your priorities, goals, and your reasons why at least once a year.
Is your ultimate why because God values it? For example, you decide to commit to marriage because God values it. But is that going to be enough to keep your commitment when marriage is tough? Your why must be honest and deeply held, otherwise, it won’t last through the trials of life.
With your why firmly in your mind, there’s power to accomplish your goals, regardless of their difficulty.
With your why firmly in your mind, there's power to accomplish your goals, regardless of their difficulty. Share on X
What Next
- What goal is so valuable that you’d spend your life to see it realized?
- What do you need to lose in your life, in order to achieve a greater win (or trade up)?
- What are you holding onto and what makes it so hard to let go?
- How can I help you? Let’s chat in the comments.
Matt Pavlik writes about identity and emotional healing at his blog, ChristianConcepts.com. As a child of God, Matt desires to see God’s truth become real in his life and in the lives of others. His books, To Identity and Beyond, Confident Identity, and Marriage from Roots to Fruits, contain practical exercises to help readers move God’s truth from head to heart, developing the resilience needed to overcome life’s challenges. He administers God’s grace to individuals and couples as a professional counselor at his private practice, New Reflections Counseling. Connect with him at Pinterest and Twitter.
Thank you, Matt for sharing the power of why and commitment. Knowing our why is so important. It’s the basis that keeps us on track with what we say we want.
Thanks Danielle for having me as a guest. Keeping the big picture (why) in mind is so helpful, but also so challenging with all the day-to-day distractions. I pray everyone reading this will gain a fresh insight into their why.