Day 3 What Drives Your Life Part 1

Day Three is the longest chapter I have read so far. It's about 9 pages. I take my book with me to work so I can read it at lunch and again on break and then come home and blog. There was a lot of meat in this chapter and I'm at a loss right now for how to approach blogging about it. Here Goes:

What Drives Your Life

I'm driven by a lot of different motives. The author touched on Five factors that drive people and I underlined something that spoke to me in each paragraph.

I'm Driven by Guilt.
Guilt-driven people are manipulated by memories. They allow their past to control their future. I see that in me sometimes. I won't go into what I feel guilty about. It's not relevant to this discussion. The Bible tells us "All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God." But there is hope from the author; We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it.
I'm doing this to myself.

I'm Driven by Resentment and Anger.
Instead of releasing their pain through forgiveness, they rehearse it over and over in their minds. Am I the only one holding a grudge? I've been hurt, and the person who hurt me isn't even around anymore. How do you make peace with the dead? How do you confront them and let them know they hurt you deeply? Can you bring yourself to thank them for making you who you are today? That would be like Jesus. There is more hope; Those who have hurt you in the past cannont continue to hurt you now unless you hold on to the pain through resentment.
I'm doing this to myself.

I'm Driven by Fear.
Regardless of the cause, fear driven people often miss great opportunities because they're afraid to venture out. I'm afraid of very few "things". Some things creep me out, like roaches, but I'm not afraid of them. Some things make me uncomfortable, but not afraid like I know fear. My biggest fear, Failing when a loved one needs me most. Being afraid that I won't be able to put food on the table or care for the kids in the event of tragedy keeps me up some nights. What does the author say about this? Fear is a self-imposed prison that will keep you from becoming what God intends for you to be.
I'm doing this to myself.

I'm Driven by Materialism.
Some of you are probably saying "Really John?" and yes, I have to own the fact that money and things are a big issue for me. I don't need the best things, but I want things that other people have. I work hard to get the things I want, but every year it seems Canon makes a new DSLR, and mine gets a year older. Honda now has a 1200cc VFR and my 13 year old, 800cc bike has eighty five thousand miles on it. But notice I didn't quote anything yet. From this paragraph, what I took away was more hope. Self-worth and net worth are not the same. Your value is not determined by your valuables.
I'm doing this to myself.

I'm Driven by the need for Approval.
Again, some of you might not see this in me. Actually, it is pretty far down on my list of driving forces. If he had started with this one, I would have probably skipped over it. But I need to know that what I am do is pleasing to those whom I do it for. And I am somewhat driven by peer pressure. Unfortunately, those who follow the crowd usually get lost in it.
I'm doing this to myself!

I think that first half of this chapter was a real eye opener. It really stinks to know that so many of my stresses and pains are self inflicted. I'm really, really hoping to let go of those issues through the next few weeks. On to Part two!