One of the struggles that we all have is how to stay motivated. You know the cycle. You decide to get in shape so you begin a diet and workout routine. A couple of days goes by and it doesn’t take much of an excuse for you to skip a workout, to enjoy a little extra dessert and rationalize; “I’ll start on Monday.”  And Monday never comes. Unfortunately the tension of that cycle applies to every area of your life. The results can be catastrophic in areas of relationships, spiritual journeys, reaching goals and developing your potential. You know that you are created for more, (masterpiece living) but your feel it’s too late.

The good news – it’s not too late. As long as you have a pulse God has a new opportunity for you to live your life as a masterpiece, to be all that God created you to be. And He wants to give you a vision to live it out. Vision is the most powerful tool for staying motivated both personally and for any organization.  Let’s talk about you. You must have God’s vision for you, otherwise the flame of passion will quickly die, like going off that diet and exercise routine.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Prov 29:18 KJV)

Defining and clarifying your personal life vision takes time, it’s a lot of work, but it is so worth it. It is a must for living the life you were created to live. So, get started:

Motivation Begins When You Let Go Of The Past

One of the things that keep many of you from the vision God has for you is the past. Let it go! “…but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead…” (Phil 3:13 NLT) It’s not possible to get a second chance at every missed opportunity or regret, however it is true that God is giving you new opportunities: “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” (Isa 43:19 NLT) You may feel like your life is a wasteland – a wilderness – God is perpetually doing a new thing. Let go of the past and focus on a future vision.

Motivation Is Lived When You Step Toward Your Vision:

Take some time right now and begin working through the answers to these five questions. You may have to wrestle with some of them for several days, but it will be worth it, because the more clearly you understand your vision, the more motivated you will live your life.

1. Take a look within and ask yourself “what you are passionate about?”
2. Think through your experiences, good-bad-ugly, what are lessons you’ve learned?
3. What needs do you see in the lives of those around you that compel you to make a difference?
4. When you see your future where do you see yourself in 1 year, 3 years or 5? Everyone ends up somewhere but few people end up somewhere on purpose.
5. How has God gifted you? What are your natural talents? Spiritual gifts? Skills? These are all clues to direct you toward your life vision as His masterpiece.

As you take this journey I would love to hear from you. Where are you at when it comes to developing your life vision? Need help? I would love to help you through the process. You can begin by going to my blog Life Palette and typing in the word “vision” for several other articles that will assist you in living out your life as His masterpiece.

Time For A Do Over (Adapted from my book Life Palette)

“When I was growing up on a farm in Ohio, there was a wooded pasture between my home and my grandparents’ home where I would mow in a baseball field in the summers, the cow pies reminded me and my friends it was a pasture every time we chased a fly ball.

When we played, if we didn’t like the way we hit the ball—maybe it would slap a fresh cow pie, or strike a tree—we would simply yell “do over!” We got another chance at bat. It was as if the first hit never happened.

Now is that moment for you. It’s time for a “do over”. Maybe you’ve lived like a forgery up to this moment and succumbed to the idea this is all there is—and that you’re not one of God’s masterpieces. Perhaps you’re at a new stage in life and need to reevaluate or go to a new level. Or it could simply be a good time for you to do a tune up to make sure you’re giving God the very best values possible on your Life Palette.”