Newton’s First Law of Motion states that an object in motion will stay in motion and an object at rest will stay at rest, unless acted on by an outside force. That’s true about objects and people.

If your life is paused while you wait for whatever is next, it will remain paused unless an external force is applied. In our lives, this might be called motivation. Without it, we will keep reliving the present. With it, we can accomplish things we never thought possible. The choice is ours.

Why would anyone resist the motivation to pursue the best possible path toward the future? Fear. Complacency. Laziness. When we predetermine a course of action, we will create a rationale that supports it. Even the most ridiculous excuses begin to make sense.

The first step toward pursuing your purpose is mustering up the motivation to go for it. Some will doubt you. Some will discourage you. Some will try to convince you that a lesser goal is more attainable, and therefore, preferred.

In a society in which everyone gets a trophy, the goals are often lowered and mediocrity becomes the norm. You might have been in a class where the teacher graded on a curve. That system rewards mediocrity and pressures those who are excellent to aim low.

We’ve carried the grading on a curve mentality into other aspects of life. Excellence has been redefined in terms that used to refer to average. Those who dare to pursue true excellence will face self-inflicted objections as well as resistance from the outside.

We can’t allow ourselves to accept average as excellent. We must reclaim a vision for our lives and see our potential from the viewpoint of our Creator. We were created to leave a mark on the world, but not a pencil mark that is easily erased. Think about it!

What mark do you want your life to make? What are you doing to pursue your why?