Daily Motivator - January
 

January 1

Start strong

Start strong, continue strong, finish strong. You’re making the journey, you’re doing the work, you’re going through the year, so do it with strength.

Start strong by choosing to focus only on what truly matters. Turn away from the meaningless junk that just drains your energy and wastes your time.

Continue strong by reminding yourself why you’ve decided to do what you’re doing. When the going gets treacherous, make sure there’s a powerful positive purpose to pull you through.

See the work through and finish strong by making it about much more than just yourself. You’re on track to change life for the better, so honor that commitment by getting the job all the way done.

Finish strong, then use the achievement as a springboard for the next one. Give that momentum a meaningful place to go, and give yourself a new way to grow stronger.

On this day that’s filled with new possibilities, life is counting on you to be strong. Deploy your strength, feel your strength, grow that strength, and do all the great things you’re here to do.

— Ralph Marston

Happy new year Kracker, and to all of my daily recovery reading family.

January 2

Think and do

Put plenty of good thought into what you do. But be careful not to let the thinking crowd out the doing.

Your thoughts make your actions much more effective. However, your thoughts cannot replace your actions.

You cannot exclusively think yourself all the way to the goal, no matter how brilliant you are. Achievement happens when thought and action are dancing together, synchronized, contributing to each other.

You cannot simply think yourself out of a problem. At many points along the way, you must commit your thoughts to action.

If you’re not sure what to do, think about it for a while, but not too long. Then, even with an incomplete, imperfect plan, begin to take action.

Let your thoughts guide your actions, and let your actions inform and clarify your thoughts. Think and do, think again and do more, all the way to the results you desire.

— Ralph Marston

January 3

Always there is opportunity

The market surges, the market retreats. Yet always there is opportunity to create new value.

Innovative, disruptive products and services come and go. Through it all, is the ever-present opportunity to make life better.

Trends appear and disappear, new fashions rise up and then fall out of fashion. What never goes out of fashion, however, is the desire for richness and fulfillment in life.

Some days are bright and warm, others are dark, gloomy, frigid. Some people are cheerful and helpful, while others are withdrawn and dispirited.

Yet everywhere, at every moment, with every person, is the opportunity to impact life in a beneficial way. Whatever the conditions, whatever the environment, you can work to improve life for yourself and others.

In the ups and downs, in the victories and the frustrations, always there is opportunity. Have the vision to see it, the courage to seize it, and persist in making life better no matter what.

— Ralph Marston

January 4

Use your time wisely

Don’t settle for just any activity when you can benefit from purposeful, focused accomplishment. Fill your time with the actions that will fill your life with value.

What things are you planning to do in the next hour, over the rest of the day? When you look back later at how you spent your time today, will you be filled with gratitude or filled with regret?

Today is your opportunity to improve all the rest of your days. If you squander these particular moments, you’ll never get them back.

The greatest influence and leverage you’ll ever have over your future, is now. Choose to use that influence in a positive, productive, intentional way.

Sure, it’s tempting to waste a few minutes, or several hours, with meaningless diversions. But before you do, remind yourself of the much better alternative.

You can choose instead to use your time wisely, to create value that could improve your whole future. And that’s a choice you’ll never have to regret.

— Ralph Marston

January 5

Welcome the resistance

Seek to create or improve, and you’ll meet resistance. The more ambitious your goal, the more powerful the resistance is going to be.

Welcome that resistance, because it represents the value of what you’ve decided to do. Welcome the resistance, because it proves you are making meaningful progress.

Welcome the resistance, but do not succumb to it. Do not let it stop you, or distract you, or turn your focus away from your intention.

Smile knowingly at whatever person, force, or situation seeks to block you. You knew it was coming, you’re ready for it, and you’ve taken full responsibility for getting around it.

Whatever you seek, the resistance you encounter is your opportunity to prove how much you want it, how much you deserve it. Be eager to seize that opportunity, and enthusiastic about the great value it enables you to create.

The resistance is strong but you are stronger because you have a worthy purpose. Welcome the resistance, and do exactly what it’s trying to prevent you from doing.

— Ralph Marston

January 6

Beyond the doubt

Doubt is sometimes a sneaky way to be lazy. When you doubt your abilities you don’t have to go to the trouble to use them.

Go ahead, challenge yourself, your ideas, beliefs, perceptions, skills, with the intention of making improvements. Be careful, though, about doubting yourself too much.

Stay away from the kind of doubt that results in giving up. When you feel such doubt beginning to seep in, respond by renewing your commitment to persist.

Address your concerns, but don’t let them stop you. Consider your doubts, but don’t turn them into excuses.

Don’t let apathy and inactivity slip in through the back door in the form of doubt. As burdensome as the challenges and setbacks may be, you can always respond with positive action.

When doubt arises, see it within the larger context of all the great possibilities open to you. Then step beyond the doubt, into action.

— Ralph Marston

January 7

Great treasure

There is a great treasure in this day. Find it not by looking for it, but by being an active part of it.

Be the eyes through which life sees its unbounded beauty. Be the hands through which good work brings new richness into the world.

Resolve to see the best in the people you encounter. Let them bring out the best in you.

Every small moment is an opportunity to to deepen life’s meaning, to add fulfillment. And this day is full of small moments.

From the soft rose hue of sunrise until brilliant stars are scattered through the night sky, this is your day to live. Remind yourself what a great treasure you already have and what an even better treasure you can now help to make.

For another beautiful day you can live, you can give, you can care, you can dare to love, to hope, and bring new goodness to life. Here is great treasure, ready for you to create.

— Ralph Marston

This is truly the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be very glad in it.

January 8

Put change to work

Life is defined by change, from moment to moment, from day to day. Making the most of life means adapting to whatever changes come your way.

It’s easy to see yourself as a victim, cursed by certain changes. The more powerful response, though, is to see yourself as blessed by the opportunities the changes deliver.

Every change is a change you can choose to respond to positively. Instead of focusing on whether the change will be a good one or not, put energy into making it a good one for your world.

Many changes you cannot control or even anticipate. Yet you can know for certain they will come.

And you can make the choice right now to make the changes work for the good. When life changes you can up your game, renewing your commitment to what truly matters.

Changes are what keep life going and progressing, so make change your friend. And put change to work to take you precisely where you choose to go.

— Ralph Marston

January 9

To live and to give

Don’t seek to avoid all the effort of life. Seek instead to make life worth all the effort.

Ask the difficult questions and be willing to listen to, understand, and implement the difficult answers. Embrace the meaningful challenges and persist in working through them.

Dare to choose the most ambitious goals. Put in the work to achieve those goals that improve the world and the lives of those around you.

Acknowledge that life is inherently difficult and fully embrace it as such. Commit yourself to making that difficulty count for something meaningful.

Lead by example, always making the best choice even if that choice is far from the easiest choice. Seize upon opportunities to add new richness and beauty to life, knowing it will ask much of you.

You are here to live and to give. Go out of your way to do both, in the most meaningful ways you can imagine.

— Ralph Marston

January 10

Let life humble you

Humility improves your experience, your effectiveness, your connection to what matters. Let life humble you.

Let life remind you that you don’t have all the answers. Let life surprise you with how limitless its possibilities can be.

Continually expand your awareness by realizing how small it always is. Add to the depth of your wisdom by being eager to confess what you do not know.

Arrogance is a lonely, frustrating, empty life. Genuine humility offers escape from such a disheartening state, and access to your highest possibilities.

When plans go awry, be thankful for the humbling experience. When others fail to understand or respect you, take the opportunity to let life humble you.

Let life humble you. And let that make you stronger than ever.

— Ralph Marston

January 11

Positive territory

Some days it seems the whole world is infected with negativity. But that’s no reason for you to be similarly infected.

Where you see carelessness and incompetence, let it lead you to be more caring and effective. When you encounter anger and disparagement, let it inspire you to be more tolerant, optimistic and encouraging.

In a negative environment, be the person to claim the positive territory. Then set out to expand that territory.

You’re not likely to stop the discord and fighting by fighting against it. What you can do, is to think, speak, and act so positively that you render the negativity useless and irrelevant.

It could be that those negative people you encounter have forgotten they have any other option. Be the person to show them, with the way you live, a better choice.

Live with love, with excellence, with an optimistic, affirmative outlook. And make the world around you a more positive place.

— Ralph Marston

January 12

Best of what is possible

What can you do, that you’ve forgotten you can do? What can you do, that you’ve never known you could do?

What would cease to be impossible if you could stop assuming it to be impossible? What would you achieve if you were convinced you could achieve it?

Reality is more than what has already been, or what is now, or what you’re sure of. The most exciting and valuable part of reality is what is possible.

Your possibilities are just as real as your memories, your doubts, and your assumptions. Which will you choose to believe, to express, to follow into the future?

Instead of focusing on the obstacles, you can decide to see the opportunities inside the obstacles. Instead of being dismayed at what has happened, be encouraged and excited about what is now possible.

Open yourself beyond your fears, beyond your doubts, beyond the excuses and assumptions. Open yourself to the best of what is possible, and make that your central reality.

— Ralph Marston

January 13

Let the beauty brightly shine

See that wherever life may find you today is a beautiful place to be. Realize that whatever you have to work with is everything you need to make new richness in this moment.

You can create value right now that will always be with you. You can experience joys today that can change your life forever.

You are surrounded by life’s richness. Possibilities stretch out in every direction.

Wherever you may choose to go, the first step is ready for you to take. The journey toward any destination you can imagine begins right here and now.

Recognize the beauty in every detail and appreciate the value in every challenge. Feel the purpose that springs from deep within you, and follow its lead as you move through each day.

Allow the sparkling new abundance that is born every moment to fill you with its warmth. Right here, right now, with life as it is, take it all in and let the beauty brightly shine from you.

— Ralph Marston

January 14

Live fully as it comes

This day will soon be over. Enjoy its special wonder, its unique place in your life, while it is here.

Your problems will eventually be solved. While you have them, learn from them, grow, innovate, draw inspiration and determination from them.

You will not always be where you now find yourself. While you’re in this place, fully appreciate it, explore its details, and add its distinctive substance to your experience.

Some of the people you share this moment with, you may not see again for a long time, if ever. Treasure the time you spend with them, give your best to the encounter, get the most out of it.

To live your life fully you must live it fully as it comes. Avoid putting off until later, for later can never again offer the missed opportunities of now.

Use the good china, embrace those you love, speak your mind, soak in the beauty, share your feelings. Life is yours to live, and now is when it happens best.

— Ralph Marston

January 15

Calm determination

There’s no need to get all stressed about the task. Just get it done.

There’s no reason to be overcome with worry about the problems. Just work on getting them solved.

You can achieve without making it an epic drama that burns you out. There’s no limit to what you can do with calm determination.

With calm determination, you even have some room for joy. Because you’re working at a sustainable pace, you’re able to keep at it for a long, productive time.

Neither tyranny nor victimhood will serve your life well. Refuse to picture yourself as being anywhere on that continuum.

Trade the stress, angst, and drama for something much more conducive to a satisfying, fulfilling life. Pursue your purpose with calm determination, and enjoy the journey every bit as much as the destination.

— Ralph Marston

January 16

Necessary steps

Even the tallest mountain can be climbed, one step at a time. Even the widest, deepest ocean can be crossed, one rolling wave at a time.

The moment never has to be wasted, for there is always something meaningful and productive you can do. Even when conditions are awful, there is some kind of progress you can make.

That’s how most achievement happens. Those who achieve are those who keep taking the necessary steps, no matter what.

Every moment is an opportunity to take a small step. In the immediate future you can complete a small task, and get just a little bit closer to the goal.

Those moments add up. Today is full of them, and one such moment is here right now.

What can you do with it that will move you forward? Now is your chance to act.

— Ralph Marston

January 17

Behind the mask

Reach through the awkwardness. Reach through the rudeness, the anger, the fear, and find the person behind those things.

Behind the mask is a genuine, beautiful person. Behind the mask is a lifetime filled with feelings, with hope, with dreams.

When someone is unpleasant to you, remind yourself that the unpleasantness is mostly a mask. There’s a real person hiding in there, someone who would treasure the opportunity to treat you better.

See if you can draw that genuine person out. Instead of putting on your own mask of being insulted, seek to make a positive human connection.

Even if the other person’s attitude or behavior doesn’t improve, you’ll change the situation for the better. Because your own outlook will improve, you’ll be more patient, more understanding, less stressed.

Reach behind the mask, even if the person behind the mask doesn’t reach back. Offer authenticity, empathy, understanding, and no matter the response, the world will be a better place.

— Ralph Marston

January 18

If you’re stuck

If you’re stuck, stop bemoaning the fact that you’re stuck. Start working on a different approach.

Being stuck has nothing to do with the goal, with your purpose. Being stuck is all about the route you’re taking, and that’s something you can quickly change.

Stop agonizing, wondering, planning, debating what you’re going to do. Don’t give yourself the opportunity to talk yourself out of action.

Instead, choose another path and start making your way along that path. You’ll find out quickly enough whether it’s going to work.

If you get stuck again, you’ll gain nothing by being upset or frustrated about it. Simply step onto yet another path, and go.

Being stuck is a challenge, one you can overcome with action. Be persistent and flexible in your action, and you won’t be stuck for long.

— Ralph Marston

January 19

Overwhelm the negativity

It is difficult to care in a world that doesn’t ever seem to care. Yet it is possible, and ultimately it is your best choice.

You can care deeply, actively, even when no one else steps forward to care. There is much you can give, even when no one else is willing to give.

You can put yourself on the side of real goodness. You can make a difference, and make the world brighter with your commitment to do so.

It is a challenge being committed to excellence when it feels like indolence and incompetence are rampant. Yet it is possible, and it is powerful, and of great value.

Your best response is to do what’s good, what’s right, what’s smart and valuable and effective. In this way you overwhelm the negativity with your own action.

Instead of being distraught about how bad things can be, imagine all you can do to improve life. Then get to work and make it so.

— Ralph Marston

January 20

Appreciate what is

For a moment, for a day, for a lifetime, appreciate what is. Whatever may happen, whatever may be, choose to see it with a perspective of gratitude and appreciation.

Not every day is filled with blue skies and sunshine. Not everything you undertake turns out the way you wanted.

Even so, you always have much to appreciate. There is always value to be found, always goodness to be lived.

Always, when you decide to find something to appreciate, you will. Have faith that there’s a positive way forward, and you’ll see it.

Although the weather may turn nasty, and people may disappoint you, there’s no cause to be dismayed. For somewhere in the day, somehow in the situation is real value.

Remind yourself to appreciate what is, and you’ll see that value. Appreciate what is, and position yourself to make the very best of it.

— Ralph Marston

January 21

Good work you can do today

Be clear about where you are going, and why. At the same time, be focused on where you are and on the quality of the efforts you are making right now.

Be realistic about what lies ahead, but don’t let yourself become overwhelmed by it. Give your energy and attention to the work that’s right in front of you.

Carry with you a good sense of your past and your intended future. But don’t let the big picture make you fearful, arrogant, or complacent.

Instead, focus on the details of the progress you can make now. Immerse yourself in giving your best to the moment.

You’ve done much, and today you can do a good bit more. You have far to go, and today you can take some solid steps in the right direction.

Glance behind and ahead every now and then, to renew your determination. Then quickly turn your focus to the details of here and now, and give your best to the good work you can do today.

— Ralph Marston

January 22

Calm, deliberate response

Take a deep breath, don’t worry. You’ve got this.

Panic and drama make you feel energetic, but wild, raw energy won’t get you anywhere good. Calm down, and give yourself the chance to do what you do best.

You’ve deliberately solved problems every day of your life. You can solve this one too, with a calm, deliberate response.

Give yourself a moment to think calmly, and you’ll make much better use of your resources, of your abilities. Though the impulse of your ego may be pushing you to panic, to lash out, you can choose to rise above that impulse.

The situation calls for intelligence and effectiveness, not reckless actions taken in haste. Step back, marshal your resources, consider your abilities, assess your options, and go with the best ones.

Don’t react with an emotional onslaught that just makes the problem more intense. Respond with a well-considered, calmly executed solution that makes the problem go away.

— Ralph Marston

January 23

Fear of missing out

Don’t let the fear of missing out on one thing cause you to miss out on everything. Don’t be so worried about whatever you’re missing that you fail to fully experience what you’re doing.

Make a choice, and then give yourself to that choice, with confidence, with enthusiasm, with no regrets. Instead of fearing that you’re missing some other activity, be thankful you’re able to invest your time in the way you’ve chosen.

Your time and resources are finite, and nothing you can do will change that. What you can do is richly experience and enjoy the moment you’re in, the activities you’ve chosen, the good things you have.

Feel the freedom of not having to second guess yourself. Feel the joy of immersing yourself fully in what you’re doing.

Focus on the amazing time and place you’re in, on the great possibilities that are yours, here and now. Other people are doing other things in other places, and you’re getting the very most from all you’re doing.

Relax, and let a complete sense of satisfaction rise up within you. Life is rich, interesting, and fulfilling, for you have chosen to make it so.

— Ralph Marston

January 24

Challenge to do better

You have ideas, and then you have doubts about those ideas. Let your doubts help you to improve your ideas rather than discard those ideas.

See each doubt as a challenge to do better, not as an excuse to do nothing. Figure out what it would take to erase the doubt, and proceed to get it done.

Let your doubts push you to do the work that will refine your ideas and extract value from them. Use your doubts to ensure that there’s real wisdom and depth in your ideas.

See your doubts as a way to proofread what you intend to do before you actually do it. Make your actions stronger, more relevant and effective by first challenging them with your own healthy skepticism.

Life can be filled with pitfalls and danger, and you’re smart to be wary. Yet the best way to deal with the danger is not to retreat from it, but to find a way to act in the face of it.

Push boldly forward, welcoming the doubts that are sure to come. Employ those doubts to improve your performance, and as each doubt dissolves a new achievement will take its place.

— Ralph Marston

January 25

Look for the good

You will find what you look for, so look for the good. Even on a bad day, especially on a bad day, look for the good.

Look for the good in the people you encounter. Look for the good in the circumstances where you find yourself, in the problems, in the disappointments, in the frustrations and delays.

Often, the most rational response is to be cynical, sad, bereft of hope for improvement. Yet the better course is always to look for the good.

Great progress is made by those who look for the good, particularly when that good is not anywhere evident. It is always there, somewhere, under the difficulty, behind the pain, hidden within the challenges.

You can curse the darkness, but the darkness will remain, and your breath will have been wasted. Or, you can look for the good, and in so doing, begin to push the darkness away.

Wherever you are, whatever you are engaged in, there is good to be found. Look for the good, and find it, and continue to change each moment for the better.

— Ralph Marston

January 26

Rich on the inside

It’s nice to gaze out over grand, exotic vistas. Yet it’s just as nice to spend a quiet afternoon reading a good book in a simple sunlit room.

You don’t need to have an impressive experience to have a good and fulfilling experience. You don’t need to have the ultimate adventure to enjoy an interesting and satisfying day.

You can live very well without a lot of money or fame. You can enjoy a rich and fulfilling life without frantically rushing to get in front of the latest trend.

Gently and joyfully do what you love instead of struggling and clamoring to do whatever happens to be in vogue. Give yourself the time live to well rather than striving to accumulate possessions and experiences that mean very little to you.

Spend more of your life fully enjoying all you have, and less of your energy yearning to get more. Have the confidence to be truly happy without the need to keep up false appearances.

Let a genuine love for the beauty of life guide your choices and priorities each day. Be rich on the inside, for that’s where it really matters.

— Ralph Marston

January 27

Relentless and flexible

You can’t ever make more hours in the day but you can always make more of the hours you have. You can’t ever change what’s already happened but you can always choose what to do with it.

Some options are simply not available, yet that doesn’t have to stop you. Because you have plenty of other options to choose from.

If your path is completely blocked, don’t descend into bitterness, retribution or self pity. Instead, use all your energy to find another path.

Plan well, but don’t get so attached to the plan that you abandon the goal when the plan doesn’t work. There is another way, one that will get you there.

Remind yourself why reaching your goal is so important. Stay solidly connected to your purpose, and you’ll more readily see the alternate options.

Be relentless about achieving the goal, and flexible about how you do it. In a world of endless possibilities, you’re sure to find a way.

— Ralph Marston

January 28

Get yourself going

Stand up tall and do something meaningful with the opportunity of this day. Shake off the hesitation, the excuses, the distractions, and get yourself going.

Wasting today is not a good option. This day is here now, and only now, and its unique value is available to you only if you make use of it.

A world full of factors you can’t even imagine have combined to provide you with the chance to live this day. It’s up to you, it is in fact your obligation, to make the most of every moment.

Soon, and for a long time after, you’ll look back on this day. Now, and only now, you can ensure you’ll look back not with shame or regret, but with gratitude and satisfaction.

Living this day well is difficult, demanding work that’s likely to be frustrating, inconvenient, even exhausting. And yet when it’s done, as taxing as it may be, you’ll know for certain it was your very best choice.

Get yourself going, now, and make yourself more useful and productive today than you’ve ever been. Rise to the challenge of your greatest opportunity, which is now.

— Ralph Marston

January 29

Aim far and focus near

When the details of the moment confound and frustrate you, draw inspiration from the goal, the purpose, the vision you seek to fulfill. When that vision seems hopelessly far away, find solace in your ability to take small yet meaningful steps toward it from right where you are.

Set your aim high, and set your focus on the moment. Keep yourself aligned with your most treasured dreams, and keep yourself busy with the practical, useful, effective efforts that will bring those dreams to fruition.

Keep your aim far ahead and keep your focus upon all you can do right now. Let your work benefit from and be inspired by your purpose, and enable your purpose to be fulfilled by your work.

The big picture will motivate you to keep going. The small details will create the pathway for you to get there.

Many people dream but never fulfill those dreams, and too many others stay busy but never really are headed anywhere. By aiming far and focusing near, you can be both a dreamer and a doer, someone who follows a dream and actually reaches it.

Give purpose to your actions and actions to your purpose. Aim far, focus near, and work your way to exactly where you want to be.

— Ralph Marston

January 30

Energy of achievement

Allow peace to fill you. Allow purpose to return to your awareness.

Discomfort and frustration have faded away. Now is your time to care, to focus on what matters, to love, to experience real things.

Feel the desire to make a difference, that burns brightly within. Ride upon the energy of that desire as it expands and sustains your positive, effective actions.

Now, the distractions cannot distract you. Now, your thoughts and efforts are aimed in a consistent, beneficial direction.

Now, you are in the zone where great achievement is brought forth. Now, you experience the extraordinary satisfaction of making good and meaningful progress.

Creativity is unleashed, efforts feel effortless, and the energy of achievement flows freely. Now, get some great and valuable work done.

— Ralph Marston

January 31

Much good to do

You cannot have life without some adversity. What you can have is strength in the face of adversity, and that’s a much better bargain.

You cannot make progress without encountering challenges. What you can have, though, are the courage, determination, and persistence to push through those challenges.

Do not wish for life to be easy, because that is a wish for life to be empty. Seek instead the strength and fortitude to live a life filled with meaning and substance.

Awaken again each day to the wondrous reality of your problems, your possibilities, your limitations, courage, gratitude, disappointment, generosity, and love. Life is a rich bundle of powerful forces and varied directions, with so many great options for living it well.

Find solid confidence in knowing that whatever you encounter, you can encounter with grace, with integrity, with a commitment to add more goodness to life. Though you cannot choose the strength or direction of the wind, you can decide precisely where it propels you.

Welcome that wind as it teases, as it shifts, as it howls, and revel in the awesome energy that is life. You have much good to do, and here is your day, your opportunity, to do it.

— Ralph Marston