The Purpose Driven Life Chapter 3-What Drives Your LIfe?

Gosh. I guess i can only be able to post Chapter 4 and 5 tomorrow. It's really late and i'll have to hit the sack soon. ): Like always, do tell me if i've made a mistake or left anything out. Thanks a billion. (:

Chapter 3: What Drives Your Life? [Partially taken out from the book and minor editing by Laura]

Everyone's life is driven by SOMETHING. "Drive" is mostly defined as "to guide, control, or direct". Be it driving a car, or a golf ball, one would be "guiding/controlling/directing" it at that moment. What's the driving force in your life..?
Right now, most of us will be driven by a problem, or a painful memory, or a haunting fear, or an unconscious belief. There are tens of tens of circumstances, values, and emotions that can drive your life. The five most common ones are written below:

Many people are driven by guilt:
They:
• spend their entire lives running from regrets and hiding their shame
• are manipulated by memories
• allow their past to control their future
• often unconsciously punish themselves by sabotaging their own success
Yes, we are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it in the least. God's purpose is not limited by our past as He specializes in giving people a fresh start.

Many people are driven by resentment and anger:
They:
• hold on to hurts and never get over them
• rehearse it over and over in their minds instead of releasing their pain through forgiveness
• [some] "clam up" and internalize their anger
• [some] "blow up" and explode it onto others
Both are nothing but unhealthy and unhelpful. Resentment always hurts us more than it does the person we resent. While the offender has probably forgoten the offence and gone on with life, we continue to stew in our pain, perpetuating the past.
Listen: Those who have hurt us in the past cannot continue to hurt us now unless we hold on to the pain through resentment. Our past is our past!! Nothing will change it. We will only be hurting ourselves with our bitterness. For our own sakes, we'll have to learn from it and let it go. Haven't we heard of "once bitten, twice shy"..? We'll just have to carry on with our lives; move forward. There is NOTHING we can do about what's done.

Many are driven by fear:
They:
• may fear as a result of traumatic experience, unrealistic expectations, growing up in a high-control home, or even genetic predisposition
• play it safe, avoiding risks and trying to maintain the status quo instead of venturing out; missing great opportunities
Fear is a self-imposed prison that will keep us from becoming what God wants us to be. We MUST move against it with the weapons of faith and love.

Many people are driven by materialism:
They:
• feel a desire to acquire; making it the whole goal of their lives
• have misconceptions; "Having more will make me more happy, more important, and more secure".
Possessions only provide temporary happiness. I can buy something to make me happy now. But i will get fed up of it in the end as we people are never satisfied.
Self-worth and net worth are not the same. Your value is not determined by your valuables. God says the most valuable things in life are not things!! Remember: Possessions and valuables can never, and i mean NEVER measure the value of one's self as a person.
The most common myth about money is that having more will make one more secure. It will NOT. Wealth can be lost instantly through a variety of uncontrollable factors. The more money one has, the more insecure one would normally feel. Because he/she will have so much cash on him/her that everyone unknown around him/her will be seen as a bad guy. Real security can only be found in that which can never be taken away from you which is YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

Many people are driven by the need for approval:
They:
• allow the expectations of parents or spouses or children or teachers or friends to control their lives
• [many adults] are still trying to earn the approval of unpleasable parents
• [others] are driven by peer pressure, always worried by how others might think
• follow the crowd; getting themselves lost in the end
No one knows all the keys to success, but one key to failure is by trying to please everyone; something a lot of us tend to do, including myself. Being controlled by the options of others is a guaranteed way to miss God's purposes for our lives.
There are other forces that can drive our lives, but they all lead to the same dead end:
• Unused potential
• Unnecessary stress
• Unfulfilled life
This forty-day journey will show you how to live a purpose-driven life; a life guide controlled and directed by God's purposes. NOTHING matters more than knowing God's purposes for our lives, and NOTHING can compensate for not knowing them. Not success, nor wealth, nor fame, nor pleasure. Without a purpose, life is but a motion with meaning; an acivity without direction, an event without a reason. Without a purpose, life is just trivial, petty and pointless.

The Benefits of Purpose-Driven Living

There are five great benefits of living a purpose-driven life:

Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life:
We were made to have MEANING. This is why people try dubious methods such as astrology or physics to discover it. When life has meaning, you can bear almost anything. Without it, nothing is bearable. Without God, life has NO purpose. Without meaning, life has no significance nor hope. The greatest tragedy is not death, but oife without purpose. Hope is as essential to everyone's life like air and water. One needs hope to cope.

Knowing your purpose simplifies your life:
It defines what you do and don't do. Your purpose becomes the standard you use to evaluate which activities are and aren't essential. Without a clear purpose, you have no foundation on which you base decisions, allocate your time, and use your resources. You will tend to make choices based on circumstances, pressures, and your mood at that moment. People who don't know their purpose try to do too much, causing stress, fatigue and conflict. It is impossible to do everything people want you to do. You have just enough time to do God's will. If you can't get it all done, it means you're trying to do MORE THAN God intended for you to do. Purpose-driven living leads to a simpler lifestyle and a saner schedule.

Knowing your purpose focuses your life:
It concentrates your effort and energy on WHAT'S IMPORTANT. You become effective by being selective. Without a clear purpose, you will keep changing directions, jobs, relationships, churches, or other externals, hoping each change will settle the confusion or fill the emptiness inyour heart. The power of focusing can be seen in light. Diffused light has little power or impact, but one can concentrate his/her energy by focusing it. There is nothing quite as potent as a focused life, one lived on purpose. The men and women who have made the greatest difference in history were the most focused. If you want your life to have impact, FOCUS IT!! STOP dabbling. Stop trying to do it all. Do less. Prune away even good activities and do only that which matters most. Never confuse activity with productivity.

Knowing your purpose motivates your life:
Purpose ALWAYS produces PASSION. Nothing energizes like a clear purpose. On the other hand, PASSION DISSIPATES WHEN YOU LACK A PURPOSE. Just getting out of bed becomes a major chore. It becomes meaningless work, not overwork, that wears us down, saps our strength, and robs our joy. Even Rick Warren noticed this quote by George Bernard Shaw [I used this for my English oral. I LOVE this quote.]. As it is my favourite, it'll be posted up: This is the true joy in life; the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clot of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. So how does this quote speak to you..?

Knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity:
Many people spend their lives trying to create a lasting legacy on earth. They want to be remembered when they're gone. Yet, what matter ultimately matters the most will not be what others say about your life but what GOD says. People fail to realise that all achievements are eventually surpassed, records are broken, reputations fade, and tributes are forgotten. Living to create an earthly legacy is a short-sighted goal. A wiser use of time is to build an ETERNAL LEGACY. You WERE NOT put on earth to be remembered. You were put here to prepare for ETERNITY. One day, you will stand before God, and He will do an audit of your life, a final exam, before you enter eternity. Fortunately, God wants us to pass this test, so He has given us the questions IN ADVANCE. God WILL NOT ask about your religious background or doctrinal views. The only thing that will matter is:
• Did you accept what Jesus did for you and did you learn to love and trust Him..?
• What did you do with your life-all the gifts, talents, opportunities, energy, relationships and resources God gave you..?
• Did you spend them on yourself, or did you use them for the purposes God made you for..?
Preparing you for these two questions is the goal of this book. The first question will determine WHERE you spend eternity. The second question will determine WHAT YOU DO in eternity.

And so:
Point to Ponder: Living on purpose is the path to peace.
Verse to Remember: You, LORD, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in You. Isaiah 26:3 [TEV]
Question to Consider: What would my family and friends say is the driving source of my life..? What do i want it to be..?

My answer: Instead of it being an emotion or a worry, many, including my family members, will say that the internet is the driving source of my life. As in, my life practically revolves around it. Whether i'm happy or sad, i'm online. If i'm too lazy to go out with my family for a simple dinner or for a walk in the mall, i'm online. If i wanna skip school for a certain reason, i'll end up going online. I use the internet everyday, 5 hours EASILY. And truth be told, it's really troublesome. I want my life to be driven by Christ; the one person who can truly lead my life and show me the right way through thick and thin. Yet i feel that i do neglect my responsibility by not putting Him before surfing the internet.

So, this is an advice to me as it is to those in my position [It doesn't have to be internet obsession. It can be ANYTHING.] It's really simple; Put God before anything else to find your true purpose in life. Only Christ can lead you to the answer, no one else. We just have to open up our hearts and let Him lead us to the very end.

~Laura~