Jeff Simmermon talks about how every story well told has a Northstar. One of the elements to a story that makes it relatable to others and us relatable to others is the demonstration of our want, need or desire that we have in the context of the story. These are the motivations driving us through the story.
There are two levels of motivation, internal and external. Our external motivation is what we're going after. Our internal motivation is why were going after it. He suggests the simple effective technique of talking about the "so that" for everything we express as an external motivation. We might say we started a trip so that we could explore a new city so that we could find new kinds of food and music so that we could add to our repertoire. Each so that creates a more clear and significant Northstar.
Our narrative Northstar then helps us build a story that engages and works.