Have you ever had a job where you were just going through the motions? You are trying to make it through each day to get your paycheck. I know I have.
You and I went into business because we wanted to do more meaningful work, have a more significant impact, and serve God through our businesses. To do this type of work requires us to learn how to stay motivated in your God-centered business because it can be challenging at times.
To do meaningful, impactful, God-centered work is to work with excellence. But how can you stay motivated in your God-centered business and work with excellence? That sounds like a tall order!
Being consistent is the key to working with excellence and how to stay motivated in your God-centered business.
Before we get into the five ways to stay motivated in your God-centered business, we’ll look at part of Ruth’s story from the Bible to show you how your devotion to God helps you stay motivated to do what God is calling you.
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Ruth from the Bible
One of my favorite women in the Bible is Ruth. Her story shows us that devotion to God leads to being motivated to do your best, pursue excellence and stay consistent in your business.
Ruth has an entire book dedicated to her in the Bible. Her story gives us a picture of how God redeems us through Jesus. First, however, we will enter the middle of Ruth’s story, where we see her pursuing excellence and being consistent as she works in the fields. She is our example of showing a good attitude and doing our best.
Devoted and Loyal
Ruth is the devoted daughter-in-law of Naomi. When Naomi’s husband and two sons die, she realizes that she needs to return to Bethlehem for protection. Ruth is a Moabite (descendants of Lot), a beautiful foreigner. She begs to return with Naomi because of her devotion to her mother-in-law and love for God.
They arrive at the beginning of the Spring harvest. Ruth begins to work the fields ‘gleaning’ the leftover grain. She is working to care for Naomi and herself. The work may not be what she wanted, it probably was beneath her pay grade, but it is in front of her so she and Naomi can survive.
The work is hard and long, yet we don’t see Ruth complaining and grumbling. She works hard every day, picking up the leftovers from the field. I am sure she is not the only person gleaning from the fields. This situation is fraught with dangers from the other gleaners to the hired harvesters. To be a woman in this environment has got to be difficult.
Hard Work Sets You Apart
The field Ruth ends up in belongs to Boaz, a relative of Naomi. God orchestrated everything so Ruth would be safe and not suffer. Boaz notices and asks about the beautiful woman working in the field. The foreman reports that she has a strong work ethic, which finds favor with Boaz.
He is an encouraging ‘boss’ and tells her to only glean from his field, go behind the women for safety, and get all the water she needs. He even instructs the others to give her extra food at lunch and drop extra grain for her to pick up. This reward is for going beyond what is expected. She shows that hard work can set you apart.
Rewards and Favor
Ruth stays through the entire harvest time, working diligently in Boaz’s fields. Together, the barley and wheat harvest constituted about seven weeks’ worth of work. Ruth’s only concern is to continue working to take care of Naomi in all this time. To be consistent in doing that.
Ruth is intelligent, strong, and loyal to a fault, and I believe she was planning for the next thing to do after the harvest. I don’t know if she had the same thought as Naomi, but Naomi’s shrewd, courageous and persevering nature was reawakened at the thought of Ruth finding favor with Boaz.
The story continues, and I have not included the details. You can read that in the Bible, and I have more in my Clarify Book. However, Boaz does identify Ruth as a woman worthy of his attention. Ruth may seem like an unimportant person who is just looking to survive, but God has other plans. Boaz accepts Ruth by redeeming her in marriage, AND she is redeemed through children. In fact, she is the mother of Obed, the grandfather of King David.
God is Shaping Your Character to be More like His Son
We can never overlook the importance of our work by the size of our bank accounts, our popularity in the market, or by comparing our business to others. Instead, God’s looking at our hearts, our devotion to Him, and shaping our character to be more like His Son.
Five ways to stay motivated in your God-centered business
Let’s look a little deeper into how to stay motivated in your God-centered business through consistency in our work.
#1 – Make incremental progress and improvements and log it
Consistency is not about obtaining quick results. It is about making incremental progress and improvements over time. Ruth was in the harvest for seven weeks, at least before she saw the fruits of her labor.
How long have you been working to create a following, write your content, or develop your products and services? The key to seeing results is to be patient and stay consistent.
Keeping track of your progress and logging all you are doing is part of the journey. Keep a gratitude journal and record one thing each day you can be grateful for, such as learning something new, an opportunity that moved you forward, or the just fact that you completed what you said and checked it off.
#2 – Commit to God a sustained effort
Consistency requires commitment on your part. Commit yourself to a sustained effort of action over time. Again, we can look to Ruth as an example of this. Commitment to God comes first, then commit to your plan.
What does your plan look like day-to-day? Do you have a plan? Whether you write out your day the night before or plan a week at a time. You need to have a plan, and you need to write it out. Get yourself a planner that works for you and use it.
Sustained effort and action can only happen when you have actual activities to do. Likewise, your business can only move forward if you are committed to taking the action necessary to move it.
#3 – Build small empowering habits and routines
Consistency is about building small empowering habits and routines that you perform every day that keep you focused on your highest priorities and goals. Ruth’s goal was to keep herself and Naomi alive; she had no choice.
You may or may not have choices. Create habits in your life you know will make you successful. Start with small habits like blocking time each day for getting things done in your business. Develop small habits for better bible study time and prayer for your soul. Keep habits around healthy like proper sleep, nutrition, and exercise.
Habits and routines built into your day give you the stamina to stay consistent with doing the things God is calling you to do. I have a tool to help you think through this. It’s named 20 Habits, and it is designed to help you create and stay consistent with new habits (or change old ones) by adding two per month until you have implemented all 20.
#4 – Learn, grow, adapt and improve
Consistency is not about repeating actions for the sake of getting things done. That’s an inefficient use of your time. Instead, it is about progress: learning, growing, and adapting your actions, leading to incremental improvements.
Ruth began to understand what the next step would need to be after the harvest to get to her next level. So when you’re thinking about your next step, consider what new skills you’ll need to invest in to grow in your faith, know more about God, and succeed in your business.
I’ve said this before, as an entrepreneur and business owner, you must always be learning and adapting. There is no sure thing when it comes to business. Nothing will ever make everything in your business perfect.
In all those little things you do daily, you will see progress. My best way to start the day is by sitting with God and my journal. I journal a little differently. I don’t journal in the traditional way where I write out my thoughts, prayers, ideas, etc., which is a beautiful way to journal. Instead, I have a colorful way of journaling called praying in color.
Either way you choose, journaling with God and asking for His wisdom is a great way to focus each day on taking new information and incorporating it into your business. Also, your journal acts as a way to record your progress which helps out with #1 – Make incremental progress and improvements and log it.
#5 – Power lies in the present moment, and accountability
Consistency means understanding that the most significant power lies in the present moment, what you decide to do right now. It means staying diligent and on top of the task at hand without losing focus.
Ruth had to be disciplined and show up every day to work so she could eat. Showing up is half the battle! Procrastination is the enemy of consistency. Staying present in the moment means you have planned for the moment, know what you want to do, and do the actions to complete it at the moment. Once you begin to show up consistently, you are on your way to excellence.
Accountability to stay motivated in your God-centered business
There are so many tools that can help you stay consistent, but I also know from experience that accountability helps you stay motivated and consistent.
Having people in your life who hold you accountable for your daily choices in your faith and business is another crucial factor in staying motivated and consistent. But, you know, we don’t depend on our ability to make it happen, we rely on the God we serve to make it all work out for our benefit, and He gives us the resources we need to do our best.
If you are looking for ways to stay consistent in your God-centered business and life, then connect with me for a Clarity Conversation, and we can chat about how you feel called by God to reach your goals.
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