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Knowledge does not allow you to understand the world. Knowledge dispels the illusion that you understand the world.
-- Nate Staniforth
 

 

The MONTHLY Motivator - June 2012

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Born to achieve

You are born to achieve. You are highly and specifically equipped to achieve. At the very core of your being is the desire to achieve, the unrelenting longing to make a difference.

You are uniquely significant. In your own very special way, you are the most important person who has ever lived. That doesn’t mean you’re better than everyone else. What it means is that you have a sacred obligation to express and fulfill the special flavor of life’s beauty that lives only in you.

At the core of every desire you have is the desire to matter, to make a difference, to express and experience and fulfill the possibilities of life in your own unique way. In fact, desire itself is inseparable from the fundamental, driving urge to matter, to express your significance.

Often, that deep and abiding impulse to matter can be misinterpreted or corrupted, causing harm to yourself and others. For example, in the quest to express significance someone might ingest alcohol or other drugs that do not really express his significance, but merely make him feel significant. Such intoxication is an achievement of sorts, but a very shallow and temporary one. It doesn’t even come close to addressing the deep-rooted desire to matter. It just suppresses the longing for a little while. But of course the longing comes back once the intoxication wears off, and he is further behind than when he started. It only grows stronger and more insistent when it is suppressed. So he must either choose to authentically and positively fulfill that longing, or suppress it again and again with stronger and more destructive behaviors.

Destructive behaviors aren’t always as obvious as substance abuse. They can be as seemingly innocent as giving in to distractions, or feeling frustration or resentment, or just not feeling like doing anything. Eventually, though, anything you do (or fail to do) that ends up suppressing your authentic desire to make a positive difference in life will lead to pain and regret.


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--Ralph Marston

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