Simon Sinek & Finding the Motivation-Why through Theology
How do we wake up in the morning energized to do all that we do? When we don't have a sense of clear purpose, we are like zombies who keep getting from one distraction to another.
When we have a deep sense of purpose that gives us focus on something that energizes us. Neurologist says that when we pay attention to something it create neural energy. How do we get to this place of finding neural energy?
Simon Sinek is a management consultant who has a Ted Talk which is one of the most watched Ted Talks. He talks about the importance of knowing 'why' we do the things we do. Often times we know what we need to do. How we need to do it. But if we don't know why we need to do something we will not feel the motivation to do things. Sinek says that the 'what' to do and the 'how' to do things is more about neo-cortex which is the abstract reasoning part of the brain. The 'why' speaks to the limbic system of the brain - which is the part that relates to emotions. Emotions energize actions.
The motivating-why gives us a strong sense of purpose.
From a theological perspective we are people who are made in the image of a God who is creative, so we are wired to take action. God gave human beings the purpose of taking care of planet earth. That was our original 'why.' But because of our selfish actions, through the Fall we lost that 'why.' Now we are trying to find a new 'why' to give meaning and purpose for our life. We do this because we are wired to respond to a sense of having deep purpose.
This the fundamental truth that Simon Sinek points to. But just having an energizing why is not enough. We also need to have a sense of why that is also morally sound. Some really evil people had some strong motivating-why like Hitler. Hitler was able to mobilize a whole nation around the motivating-why of Aryan supremacy. He was able to create a strong-why which was destructive because it was morally flawed.
Christianity has 2 points to make pertaining to the moral dimensions of our life
1.Be careful about your motivations, just because even if we think we are doing good, we may be motivated by subconscious greed.
2.The self-giving way of love that is modeled by Jesus is the best way to live.
Rick Warren in the book Purpose Driven Life talks about finding one purpose, he warns us against our deep selfishness by saying, “Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God lead us out into the open, into a spacious, free life.” If we are not honest about making our purpose into something that is just narcissistic self obsession, we will easily use our 'why' to cause harm to people around us, may be not like Hitler, but in smaller ways.
Henry Nouwen in his book the Gennesse Diary says that even when he reads the Bible at times he finds himself thinking about how he can use the content he is reading for some future lecture. He bemoans his temptation for self-aggrandizement. If our self-aggrandizement becomes our motivating-why, it is very easy for us to get remain obsessed with our own self, which is not a place of freedom.
How do we get to the place of not being preocupied with the self? The answer is worship. When we truly operate from the motivation of glorifying God, then our heart is in the right place. To worship God is not just to say some words like Praise God or Hallelujah. Rather, it is a desire to seek intimacy with God above all else and to do all that we do with an attitude of not seeking self-glorification but rather of obedience to God. This becomes the strongest motivating-why for the Christian. To obey God is to love our neighbors.
A strong sense of why is deeply motivating, giving us the energy to face what we have to do each day with a deep sense of purpose and meaning. Simon Sinek is right in helping us to see why focusing on the why is more important than focusing on the 'what.' But the 'why' in and of itself is amoral, so it can easily be used in narcissistic self-seeking ways. When we make our 'why' to align with the glorifying God, by valuing intimacy with God and obeying God's command to love our neighbors we will be energized to truly create a world of love and peace.