I observed that the basic motive for success is the driving force of envy and jealousy! Ecclesiastes 4:4 (LB)

Here are five forces that can drive your life and all of them lead to the same dead-end: unused potential, unnecessary stress, and unfulfilled life.

1. Many people are driven by guilt.
Do you spend your entire life running from regrets and hiding your shame? Guilt-driven people are manipulated by memories.

They allow their past to control their future. They often unconsciously punish themselves by sabotaging their success.

2. Many people are driven by resentment and anger.
Do you hold on to hurts and never get over them?

Instead of releasing your pain through forgiveness, do you rehearse it repeatedly in your mind?

Some resentment-driven people “clam up” and internalize their anger, while others “blow up” and explode it onto others. Both responses are unhealthy and unhelpful.

3. Many people are driven by fear.
Your fears may be as a result of a traumatic experience, unrealistic expectations, growing up in a high-control home, or even genetic predisposition.

Regardless of the cause, fear-driven people often miss great opportunities because they’re afraid to venture out. Instead, they play it safe, avoiding risks and trying to maintain the status quo.

4. Many people are driven by materialism.
Has your desire to acquire become the whole goal of your life?

The drive to always want more is based on the misconceptions that having more will make us happier, more important, and more secure, but all three ideas are untrue.

Possessions only provide temporary happiness. Because things do not change, we eventually become bored with them and then want newer, bigger, better versions.

5. Many people are driven by the need for approval.
Do you allow the expectations of parents, spouses, children, teachers or friends to control your life?

Many adults are still trying to earn the approval of unpleasable parents. Others are driven by peer pressure, always worried about what others might think.

Unfortunately, those who follow the crowd usually get lost in it.
I don’t have all the keys to success, but one key to failure is to try to please everyone.

Being controlled by the opinions of others is a guaranteed way to miss God’s purposes for your life. “No one can serve two masters.”