More Than Fear, Less Than Greatness

If I’m being honest, one of my biggest motivations is responsibility. I know what happens when I drop the ball—because I’ve done it before. When I fail to follow through, it doesn’t just affect me; it affects the people who count on me. That knowledge pushes me to give my best effort, even when I’d rather take the easy way out.

I’m also motivated, in part, by fear. I don’t want to let others down, and I don’t want to feel like I don’t belong. Whether it’s in teaching, refereeing football, or even writing, I sometimes feel the need to prove that I measure up. That drive can be both a blessing and a curse—it pushes me to work hard, but it also makes me my own harshest critic.

Underneath all that, though, there are deeper motivations that matter even more. I want to grow, to get better, and to make a difference in the lives of the people I encounter. I want to use the gifts God has given me and not waste the opportunities He’s placed in front of me. And honestly, while I’d love to be great, most days I’d simply be satisfied knowing I didn’t “suck”—that I showed up, did the work, and hopefully left things better than I found them.

At the end of the day, I think motivation is rarely simple. It’s a mix of responsibility, fear, faith, and hope. What about you? What gets you moving when it would be easier to stand still?

About Douglas Blaine

Capnpen is a writer who was a newspaper and magazine journalist in a previous life. A college journalism major, he now works as an English teacher, but gets his writing fix by blogging about a variety of topics, including politics, religion, movies and television. When he's not working or blogging, Capnpen spends time with his family, plays a little golf (badly) and loves to learn about virtually anything.

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