Day Four is off to a great start, with two hours of work on my writing project under my belt and no signs of stopping. Why am I so fired up today? Why am I not experiencing the same old resistance?

Because I raised the stakes. I asked myself some hard questions, did some soul-searching, and figured out why this is so important to me. Here's how you can raise the stakes for your project--all you have to do is answer one simple question.

Why are you doing this?

Easy enough, right? Not really. Allow me to demonstrate.

Why are you writing this novel? Because I want to get published.

Why? Um... well, because I want to make lots of money.

Really? You make good money now, and if you keep going in the same track at work, you'll be making a lot more. Money doesn't seem to make you happy. So why are you writing this novel? I want people to know my name. I want to be famous.

No, you don't. You hate being the center of attention. It makes you feel awkward and self-conscious and invaded. You won't even have a birthday party. So why are you writing this novel? Well, maybe I want to be appreciated for my talent. Maybe I want someone to acknowledge that I'm good at something, better than anyone else.

You get that at work now. No one else in your office can do your job. Everyone appreciates you, and they let you know it. Why are you writing this novel? Leave me alone--I don't know! Yes, you do. Fine. I'm writing because I have a story to tell.

You have a story to tell? OK, then tell your story and put your manuscript in your night table drawer and get on with your life. I can't do that. Why? I need people to read it.

WHY? Why are you writing this novel? Because I have something to say that people need to hear, damn it! It's something that no one has ever said before, something unique, something that could bring a little more hope and beauty into the world. If I don't write it, I won't just be disappointing myself--I'll be failing to achieve what God put me here to do. I can't not write this novel!

Oh. Why didn't you say so?

It's often hard for women to conceive of ourselves as having a life-changing, world-altering purpose. (Years of marginalization will do that to a girl.) But we do, each and every one of us. That small business you're starting? It will grow into a national corporation that will employ and empower thousands of women. That child you're raising? She's going to be the first human on Mars. That song you're writing? It will keep a depressed teenager from killing herself.

Your purpose matters. Figuring out why will give you the strength and motivation to keep going when things are tough. So take a moment to think about what you're doing and ask yourself why.