Page 18 - Faith-Based Workbook 8-27-18

TOPUCU Adult Faith-Based Workbook
LESSON 2: PART 2
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
"…the one who is unwilling to work shall not eat." — 2 Thessalonians 3:10b (NIV)
Previously in part 1 of this lesson, we
discussed that there are two types of
motivation – external motivation and internal
motivation. We also learned that external
motivation is temporary and fleeting, while
internal motivation is the key to becoming a
finisher and transforming your life. Internal
motivation is what will push you to succeed
when there is no one else there to motivate
you. It’s the feeling in your gut that is urging
you to get off the couch and workout; it’s
the voice in your head telling you to take
the extra initiative in class or at work; it’s
the twinge of discomfort you feel in your
spirit pushing you to dust of your Bible and
read a verse or two. But you already knew
that. You wouldn’t have started this program
if the desire to change your circumstance
wasn’t already somewhere inside you. But
remember, this program isn’t just about
information; it’s about transformation.
Now, as believers, it is easy to say that we
have the purest source of motivation that
could ever exist in the form of the Holy
Spirit living inside of us. We believe the Holy
Spirit guides us, leads us and helps us. The
prophet Ezekiel, while writing on the Lord’s
behalf said, “…I will give you a new heart
and put a new spirit in you… And I will put
my spirit in you and move you to follow my
decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NIV). This is one of many
passages that speak about the influence the
Holy Spirit should have on the intentions and
motivations of those who follow the Word.
However, we all know that many times it just
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isn’t that simple. Merely believing that the
Holy Spirit is guiding and pushing us isn’t
enough. We must also have the practical
motivation to get up and do something.
The Bible confirms this notion in several
passages of scripture. In fact, in his second
letter to the Thessalonians Paul makes a
blunt declaration when he warns the church
against idleness. “…the one who is unwilling
to work shall not eat.” 2 Thessalonians
3:10b (NIV)
In the literal sense, of course, it’s easy to
stay motivated about eating. When you feel
hungry, you take it upon yourself to find
some food. But what about those more
abstract aspirations? What about those
life-changing transformations? Well today
we’re going to add another element to your
TOPUCU Toolbox and teach you a formula
that will help you act on that gut feeling
in the pit of your stomach and respond to
the urging of that voice in your head. It’s
a formula that will not only help you tap
into the wellspring of motivation you have
inside you, but also help you pinpoint – and
ultimately destroy – the things inside you
that make you feel unmotivated. But only
listen to this if you’re actually ready to make
that change. You can’t just hear the formula;
you’ve got to memorize it and implement it
each day. That is what will bring change in
your habits and ultimately change in your life.
Are you ready? Then let’s get down to it!
One of the biggest things that affects our
motivation is our perceived “odds of success”
at any given goal we may or may not set for
ourselves. For example, let’s say someone
offered you one hundred dollars. You would
gladly accept it right? Of course you would.
Now, let’s say you were required to run 1 mile
in order to get that money. Would you do
it? Absolutely you would! Now, let’s say the
reward was 500 dollars, but you had to run
5 miles to get it. Is this still something you
would do? The vast majority of you would
answer yes. That money is motivating you
to dig down deep and do those miles. Even
if you’ve never run 5 miles at a time before,
most of you would jog, walk or even crawl
to make it happen, because that 500 dollars
is motivating you. Now here’s where things
get interesting. Let’s say you were offered
ten thousand dollars to run five miles. You’d
be highly motivated. But what if you have to
do it in under 20 minutes. Literally, everyone
reading this just became very unmotivated,
right? You’re not thinking about the ten
thousand dollars anymore; you’re thinking
about the fact that there are few people in
the world that can make that time and you’re
definitely not one of them. Your motivation
is gone. You’re not even going to try because
you did the calculation in your brain you’ve
come to the conclusion that the odds of
success are absolutely zero.
How many times do we do this on a daily
basis? We literally weigh the reward and
odds of success against the hard work it’s
going to take to achieve them. These three
things are the components of motivation:
odds of success, reward and hard work.
And if you can understand how they relate
to each other then you are on your way to
making a change. So let’s break it down.
Think about it like this – imagine the scales of
justice. If you don’t know what they look like,
do a quick Internet image search and you’ll
understand immediately. Now take your
two hands and hold them out just like the
Lesson 2: Part 2
scales – your left hand to your left, your right
The physical act of doing this exercise will
hand to your right. Yes, you need to do this.
help you visualize and internalize the formula.
Now in your right hand, place two parts of
the formula – the reward and the “odds of
success.” In your left hand, place the third
part of the formula, the words “hard work.”
Now, in the first scenario, the 100 dollars is
the reward component of motivation and
the 1-mile run is the “hard work” component.
When you calculate your odds of success
and add that component to the reward side
of the scale it begins to tip in the direction
of motivation because you believe you can
do it. Now let’s add the 500 dollars to the
reward side. That really tips the scale, right?
But we also added five miles to the “hard
work” side of the scale. A quick calculation
in your brain reduces the odds of success.
This weighs the scale back a little bit, but
not enough to change the fact that you are
still motivated to do the hard work it’s going
to take to get that reward. When we add
the ten thousand dollars to the right side,
the scales tip heavily toward motivation.
However, when we add the idea of running
5 miles in 20 minutes to the “hard work” side
the scales tip drastically to the other side
and now we find ourselves unmotivated
because we’ve already calculated that the
odds of success are zero and it isn’t even
worth trying. Are you starting to see it? We
calculate this formula in our minds dozens
of times a day and it affects our motivations
in pretty much every decision we make. The
reward and the odds of success weighed
against the hard work it’s going to take.
Let’s look at another example – this one
from scripture. In part one of this lesson, we
briefly touched on the story from the New
Testament when Jesus asked Peter to get out
of the boat and walk on water to meet him.
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