What is your motivation?
On this blog, Mrs. Roy writes about the way I do
things. Mrs. Roy writes about saving
money and being ecologically friendly and about serving the Lord, not
necessarily in that order. Mrs. Roy
reads lots of blogs and newsletters and books and articles about folks who are
interested in these things, too. What
sets these folks apart is their motivation.
Mrs. Roy will give you an example:
Mrs. Roy used to be part of an office paper recycling program. Mrs. Roy talked her office into participating
in this program because Mrs. Roy believes in recycling to help us preserve our
planet. There was a fellow who worked
for the recycling program who Mrs. Roy always thought had a totally different motivcation. He was an ultra-hippy type
fellow who always smelled like BO because he apparently thought it was
eco-friendly not to bathe very often or to wear deodorant and he always had on the same clothes. Mrs. Roy is sure he was very sincere but he and Mrs. Roy were
worlds apart on how to get things done.
Mrs. Roy believes my first priority must be serving the
Lord. Mrs. Roy takes that seriously and
it is the primary motivator for Mrs. Roy’s life. For instance, Mrs. Roy believes God expects
me to be a good steward of the blessings God gives me. That includes not wasting money or resources
and supporting our church and charities.
Mrs. Roy believes God expects me to take care of this planet He created,
too. That’s why Mrs. Roy recycles and
tries to buy earth-friendly products and watches water and electricity use
around the house. Mrs. Roy believes that
God expects me to do my job as though I was working for Him. That’s why Mr. and Mrs. Roy have always tried
to instill good work ethics in our children and why we practice them
ourselves. Mrs. Roy believes God gives
us family so we can take care of each other.
And so family is very important to Mrs. Roy, from helping care for
elderly parents to helping raise wonderful grandchildren.
Mrs. Roy became conscious of budgeting and money management
years ago, at a time when Mrs. Roy would lay awake at night worrying about how
to pay the next credit card bill. It
honestly never occurred to Mrs. Roy that an American family could survive in
today’s world without credit. Mrs. Roy
didn’t think it was possible. So when
Mrs. Roy read Dave Ramsey’s book, Financial Peace, it was a major eye-opener. Mrs. Roy was motivated by the idea of
becoming debt free – was that even possible???
That motivation led to following Dave’s babysteps and being incredibly
intentional about paying off debt while keeping my family afloat. You know what – Dave is right. You can live successfully in America without
credit – and you should! As Mrs. Roy
progressed with living debt free and frugal, I realized that this lifestyle honors God
and the motivation shifted from pure economics to good stewardship of God’s
resources.
Mrs. Roy has become increasingly motivated to preserving our
earth and our fragile ecological systems ever since I learned about the
terrible legacy Mrs. Roy’s generation is leaving for our children and
grandchildren. Already we see the
results of landfills filled with toxic waste and plastic bags that won’t
biodegrade for thousands of years. We
have lakes and rivers too polluted to swim in or to eat fish out of. We have icecaps melting and crazy weather
patterns. We have rising gas prices and
electricity bills. How can Mrs. Roy make
a difference? Mrs. Roy uses the “eat an
elephant” approach to this problem. We
recycle. We burn wood harvested from our
yard to heat our house in the winter. We
open windows instead of running the AC.
We buy a lot of used products instead of buying new to reduce manufacturing
and packaging. We try to consolidate
errands or not drive at all – folks think Mrs. Roy is very strange for walking
to the grocery store! Mrs. Roy doesn’t
like using paper plates and I bring home the plastic utensils from carry out
meals, wash them and reuse them. Mrs.
Roy prefers cloth napkins and dish towels to paper towels and paper
napkins. This lifestyle is also
motivated by Mrs. Roy’s faith as God specifically tells us in Genesis that He
created man to be a steward of all His creation. It is our duty not to be wasteful or
disrespectful or selfish with earth’s resources.
In all these instances, Mrs. Roy’s commitment to God and
family motivate how Mrs. Roy lives. If
you want to be successful in the way your live your life, you need to figure
out your motivation. Do you want to
retire early? Do you want to get out of
debt? Do you need a new car? Does your family want to live on one
income? Do you want to be a self-sufficient
homesteader? Do you want to work for
yourself instead of going to an office job every day? Do you want to save the whales or be a dog
rescuer? Do you want to homeschool your
children or send them to college debt free?
Once you know your motivation, you can start developing a
plan that helps you work toward your goal.
Living a life of purpose will put a spring in your step and help you
stay focused as you move forward. It’s
easier to pack your lunch every morning if you know you are putting an extra
$20 each week toward your goal. It is
worth the extra time it takes to shop for a used item instead of new when you
know why that’s important to you. If you want to go back to school, that desire might motivate you to give up some of your evenings in front of the television to take classes online.
So, what is your motivator?
