Sticking to Purpose When Your Wheels are Spinning

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Unfortunately familiar is the experience of spinning your wheels but not getting anywhere, not making any progress. Lag time between effort and outcome can suck the wind right out of you motivation sail.  Do you remember "The Purpose Driven Life"--that book that became popular by Rick Warren? I read something about a "purpose driven therapy" or "motivation therapy" while reading on vacation that I really liked the sound of. I have never heard of it before but it is apparently a very old Japanese psychology theory.  It speaks to traction found in wrapping words around a purpose and holding to it when gravity pulls you otherwise.


Considering purpose, I love the simple idea of "creating a life worth being present in."  When I get so harried, my hair is on fire, and I am chasing my tail through my day I get thirsty for this idea of being present.  Ann Voscamp calls it "weighing down the moment with your full attention."

Most of our "autopilot" behaviors are habitually with us to check out, float through, unplug and distract us from difficult or overwhelming things.  With them in place we sadly never get the blessing to be had in engaging with that hard spot, learning it's shape and it's needs, and getting the fruit and forward motion you crave by moving through it.  Therein is the culprit to spinning wheels.

This theory, called Morita or Motivation Therapy,  is right up my alley in combat to the perilous destinations of autopilot.  It is a sensical weapon to apply in the lag time often felt when your wheels are spinning but you are not getting anywhere.  I am going to just quote the author I was reading, she says it well.  I would love to know your response and thoughts--send them on!

"When looking for motivation, most people like to wait for their thoughts, feelings, or bodily sensations to tell them when they are motivated.  In fact, people spend a lot of time in therapy trying to understand why they do or do not do something.  However, the truth about finding motivation is that waiting for thoughts, feelings, and sensations to help you become motivated or change is not always going to work.  Feelings and sensations are not within your control, thoughts only sometimes are within your control, and none of them are constant.  If you are waiting for your automatic thoughts, feelings, or sensations to motivate you to action, then you have no idea how long it will take to become motivated.  Your motivation will ebb and flow with your moods.  One day you might be very motivated, and the next day you are not.  However, if you can accept that you can't control feelings, sensations, and automatic thoughts, and therefore you can't use them to motivate action, you can find motivation in your ultimate purpose.  Purpose is constant and you can control it--you can make a choice!  When you have automatic thoughts, feelings, and sensations that tell you to ignore your purpose, you can just bring those thoughts, feelings, and sensations along with you as you continue to act for your purpose. " (Astrachan-Fletcher and Maslar, 2009)

Astrachan-Feltcher, E., Maslar, M. (2009) .The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Bulimia.                 Oakland, CA :  New Harbinger Publicaitons, Inc.

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