Motive over Motion

Here’s why our motives are more powerful than our behavior By Chardonnay Beaver

According to Better Help, behavior modification is the process of changing patterns of human behavior over the long term use of various motivational techniques, mainly consequences (negative reinforcement) and rewards (positive reinforcement). Though behavior modification has its pros and cons, one area this concept fails to underline is our motives. The motive of humanity is complex and complicated. Why we do what we do seems to be a constant puzzle. This is what I discovered: motives come before motions. So, now that I’ve cleared that up, let’s dive deeper. Motives are reasons that inform our behavior. Whereas, intentions are the decisions that inform our behavior. Reasons are the justifications of our decisions. In this way, motives even come before intent. Powerful, right? Our motives, the reasoning we use to justify our decisions and actions, reveals the content of our heart. Ultimately, we’ve all had ‘heart problems’; stubbornness in our hearts that resulted in unhealthy habits. The next time you’re tempted to evaluate someone’s behavior, I urge you to first consider their motives. Words of Wisdom by Char of The Week: People look at the external, God sees the heart 1 Samuel 16:7.