I’ve been quizzing lots of people on what motivates them to do what it is that’s most important to them. How do they keep moving forward when they’re tired, afraid of failure or success, have laundry to do or people to stalk on facebook?

One of the most common themes is tied to goals and it just so happens that my friend Olivia, who is blogging about her experiences as she travels the world, wrote her latest post on staying motivated to be physically fit. She has this to say:

I need goals. I need to know what I’ve accomplished so I can either stop contentedly or push on for more. If I’m training for something, I can’t miss a workout; it would screw up my entire training schedule, which would drive me nuts.

Maybe it’s our culture’s lack of emphasis on self-discipline or over-emphasis on instant gratification; regardless, I don’t know too many people who find it easy to establish habits simply because it’s good for them. We do better with goals. (Note to self: find some kind of goal that can be tied to vacuuming.) Olivia will no doubt enjoy working out and discover that exercise is an end in and of itself (like vacuuming, right?). However, as she admits, without a training-related goal the chances of jump starting a fitness regiment decline significantly (hence my personal lack of vacuuming).

It doesn’t really matter what motivates you. But if you prefer to train rather than work out, set a goal. It may do just the trick!

The Bible Story

A very sick woman decided that if she could only touch the hem of Jesus’ man-dress, she would be healed. So she tracks him down, breaks multiple cultural norms and religious laws and touches the hem of his garment. She is immediately healed and Jesus turns to her and says, “Your faith has healed you.” A version of that story can be found here.

The Law of Attraction

According to Wikipedia, “the Law of Attraction says people’s thoughts (both conscious and unconscious) dictate the reality of their lives, whether or not they’re aware of it. Essentially, if you really want something and truly believe it’s possible, you’ll get it.”

The Shadow Side

Both of these ideas resonate with me and I’ve experienced the outworking of them. However, the distillation and combination of these two messages forces a shadow side to emerge that warrants attention. Without a broader context, ideas of faith and belief can easily lead to a path of guilt and self-blame. In other words, if I am not healed, if I do not have what I want, then it must be my fault. I have not had enough faith, I have not believed hard enough. I’ve heard this message of blame come through from traditional religious teachers and New Age gurus alike.

The Application

I’ve recently committed to taking my business to the next level financially. Most of the time, I believe I can do it, I will do it, I am doing it. I’ve decided to embrace, however, the really wise skeptic in me who nods and says, “Yes, but you’ve never done this before” or the little kid who says, “Yes, but I’m afraid to grow up that much!”

More than believing that I’m my own personal genie, I’ve committed to discovering where I’m resistant to my goal and dealing with that so that I can be more open and receptive. I’m also committed to laying the footwork that brings me closer to more financial success in my business. As I say in this post on marriage, I look forward to achieving my goal. I just might not quite believe it until I see it.

I don’t know enough about the Law of Attraction and its history to say whether my approach falls within the bounds of effective mental processes. I do know enough about Jesus’ other teachings to say that I’m pretty sure faith isn’t about perfection of thought or laying on the guilt when things don’t go as envisioned. I’ll keep you posted on how this refined *belief* works out for me.

And you? Where do you fall out with this?