Your Spiritual Path: “Push” vs “Pull”

Your Spiritual Path: “Push” vs “Pull”
Your Spiritual Path: “Push” vs “Pull”

Have you found your spiritual calling? Would you know if you had? Maybe it isn’t something you know — it’s instead something you feel and experience, like one of your senses. What works best for you personally may not be something that just comes to you in your sleep, and the right path may not be the one that feels the most comfortable at first. Sometimes we get caught up in ourselves and confuse what we want with what we need… or what we want with what we think we should. In reality, you could probably benefit from balancing both.

Push

One type of motivation is called “push.” Imagine you’re a student and you just got a poor grade on an exam. You’d probably feel pretty bad about it and study twice as hard the next time, right? This concept is all about pushing yourself toward a goal to avoid negative consequences.

Pull

Meanwhile, “pull” motivation is an internal drive. Rather than trying to reach a goal to avoid a poor result, you gravitate toward a goal for your own self-satisfaction or sense of achievement. Whether it’s a desire to win a sports game, an overwhelming need to buy something you see in a store, or a passion for pencil drawing, these are all inner forces pulling you toward something that stirs your passion.

Your Spiritual Center

More often than not, your “pull” motivation is the real you. That’s your passion, and embracing it may guide you closer toward your spiritual path.

This doesn’t mean “push” motivation isn’t equally important, of course. Sometimes you need a bit of a push to get things done, even if they make you sigh and grumble a little. At the end of the day, it’s all about you and what speaks to you. By embracing the activities you’re most drawn to, you can find more joy in your days and thereby take another step toward finding a spiritual path that works for you. Listening to what pulls on you and answering it leads to a happier, more fulfilled life. You might find that many facets of your life begin to fall into place when you follow your calling.