MM: Motivation vs. Purpose

Defeat is not a word that rolls well off the tongue. It takes mulling over, digesting and eventually, the nerve to just spit it out. At one point or another, you hit too many roadblocks and “pushing forward” isn’t just challenging, it seems comical. Motivation wanes and you're left looking for something more - purpose.

In his memoir, Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl wrote, “Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.” Too often, circumstances and emotions dictate our willingness to act. We fixate on finding an external guide—an inspiring book, a blog or a step-by-step process—in the midst of failure, that we rarely examine our internal purpose for action.

Consider your New Years resolution for 2015—do you even remember what it was? Chances are, once February rolled around your initial motivation was gone, and the resolution fell to the wayside. A motivated person sets a New Year’s resolution, but a purposeful person forms lasting habits.

Motivation is situational and helps drive us toward a specific goal. Purpose, on the other hand, is universal. It’s a solid foundation for us to turn to in the midst of defeat. Purpose teaches us that one moment, one failure, can never define our being. Motivation is localized, but purpose is a lifestyle.

When defeat overwhelms us, and emotions direct our actions, motivation has the steering wheel in our lives. But purpose is the constant—it’s the few key moments we need to cling to when motivation subsides.