Motives: Your reason for doing anything when the reason is not obvious.

Your motivating force, object, purpose and so on as to why we do the things we do. The unspecified reasons for whom we place ourselves around and whom we strive to identify with. While I’m not here to teach the definition of this word, I am striving to encourage you to think about your motives. Think about whom you are trying to impress. Think about why you do some of the things you do, and challenge yourself to identify if those motives are really in your best interest, or if they are just for temporary success. While I think most all of us have the reoccurring thoughts of success and what we think success means, I can honestly say that I have not defined some of my own motives until I began to understand exactly what success means to me. After much thought about my motives, I have come to this conclusion: choose motives that place you in the lives of those who truly care about your happiness. Choose to have motives that guide you towards a path of success that is defined by so much more than the money in your bank account or trophies sitting in a case. Choose to have positive motives. I am sure reading this you thought, could I really choose my motives? While some would argue that you cannot explain some of the reasons for doing some of the things you do, I challenge you to think about your end result. Some may argue that motives cannot be molded into action, but I think our motives are the sole purpose as to why we take action.

The next time you find yourself trying to impress someone that gives you the wrong motives, think about your own. The next time you push away those that you love for temporary happiness, think about exactly why. The next time you find yourself staying somewhere because it is in your comfort zone, think about motives. Make the reasons obvious for doing what you do. I would also like to point out that striving for success is not at all wrong. Striving for a better life and nicer things does not make you a bad person nor does it degrade anything about you. However, I challenge you to not let that be all that is guiding you. Do not let those be absolutely everything in the context of your own happiness, and absolutely do not let those be the solution to all of your problems. That kind of success is so temporary. Think about your reasons. Think about your motivating force. Think about your object. Think about your actions. Define your motives instead of letting them define you. Above all, remember to consider your levels of satisfaction and whether or not certain motives will give you exactly what you want. Go even deeper, and remember to consider the eternal satisfaction instead of the temporary kind. Motives motivate actions and actions define you.