Daily Motivator - June
 

June 1

Truth remains true

The truth is simple. Though it is often not easy, or nice, or comfortable.

If someone has to spend thirty minutes explaining himself, he’s not being truthful. Certainly life encompasses many legitimate complexities, yet in those complexities there’s ample space to embed falsehood.

Truth is largely self evident. If something doesn’t seem right, it isn’t.

Truth remains true. One can evade it for a while, perhaps a very long time, but not forever.

To the degree you seek and respect truth, you’re able to understand and deal successfully with reality. That requires work, humility, and escaping the grip of ego, but it’s well worth all that.

See truth, speak truth, act according to your honest understanding of what is true. And discover endless opportunities for authentic living in the potent realm of reality.

— Ralph Marston

June 2

Stretch yourself

You’ll thank yourself if you regularly stretch yourself. You’ll appreciate the new strength you develop by willingly taking on challenges.

It’s temptingly comfortable to stay where you are and continue doing what you’re used to doing. Don’t let that comfort become a prison.

The world at your feet stretches far beyond the horizon. Venture away from what you already know, and discover how much more you can be.

It’s good to have the confidence that comes from knowing what to expect. What’s even better is to expand that confidence by encountering situations you don’t expect.

Experience how far your capabilities can take you. Gain new understanding of the world, the people, the ideas, customs and circumstances around you.

Give yourself a healthy dose of fresh energy and inspiration. Seek today to stretch yourself, and feel more of the curiosity and competence that have always been yours.

— Ralph Marston

Happy New Month Tammy
Thanking God for getting us though
the month Of May joyous, happy and free.
God bless you on this first day of June.

You too willbe.

June 3

Act on faith

Do you want to be motivated to take action? Then take action.

It’s a mistake to think that motivation alone initiates action. You initiate the action, and then motivation comes forth to continue it.

So once you start actually doing what you intend to do, then you’ll be motivated. Thoughts and words from yourself and others can prompt you to act, yet true, sustained motivation arises only after you begin.

If you’re waiting for sufficient motivation, wait no longer. Get going and create that motivation.

Every initial step forward is an act of faith. But once you’re in motion, you quickly develop momentum and motivation to sustain that motion.

Go ahead, feel that faith in your own ability and in the rightness of your intention. Then act on your faith, and all sorts of good and powerful things begin to happen.

— Ralph Marston

June 4

Go your own way

The best way to win an argument is not to get into it. Refuse to take the bait.

Occasionally it’s absolutely necessary to defend yourself and your position. But most of the time, you’re merely doing it in an attempt to satisfy your ego, and that gets you nothing.

If a driver tailgates behind you or cuts you off in traffic, escalating that minor incident can only make things worse, never better. Call upon your strength and better judgment, let it be their problem, not yours, and move on.

When someone intentionally insults you, it’s natural to want to return the volley. So keep in mind that the most powerful response is to ignore the insult as if it doesn’t matter, because it doesn’t.

Go your own way, according to your own values and priorities. Don’t let some feckless bully cajole you into going a way not of your choosing.

Do the good you seek to do. If someone has a problem with it, smile and continue to do the good you seek to do.

— Ralph Marston

June 5

Start here

This is not the ideal situation, yet this is the situation you have. Work with it.

Now is not the perfect time, but neither is it the worst time. Make good use of it.

Whatever you seek to do, you have to start somewhere. Start here, start now.

If you can envision in advance every step you’ll need to take, that’s great. If not, go ahead with the first step and set yourself up to figure out the next one.

Rather than producing another excuse, produce an initial result. Experience how right that feels, and let it pull you forward.

With whatever you have and whatever you face, you can make a difference if you’ll just put in the effort. Start here, start now, and keep going.

— Ralph Marston

June 6

Fulfill the promise

Shake off the burden of superficiality. Escape the enticement of meaningless, contrived drama.

Purge from your awareness all the mass produced, mediocre content. Make plenty of room in your life for real wonder, purpose, challenge, adventure.

Add new layers of depth and discovery to your experience of being alive. Revel in the truth that every day offers opportunities to amaze you.

Consider what a rare and precious thing your existence is. Act with creativity and enthusiasm on the profound gratitude you feel.

You are passing through a unique and valuable moment. Fulfill the promise, well informed by every goodness you’ve ever known.

Treasure the true substance that is all around you. And raise the value of life for all by fully living the life you have.

— Ralph Marston

June 7

Go to work

Some occurrences you pretty much expect, or even intentionally work to make happen. Others take you completely by surprise.

Yet whether today’s turn of events was intentional or not, there’s something good and useful you can do in response. Rather than smugly celebrating what’s happened or retreating in fear from it, go to work.

What’s happened has happened, reality is what it is. And the situation has changed from what it was just a little while ago.

Possibilities have popped freshly into existence. What you wisely assumed yesterday to be true, may not be the case at all today.

Open your eyes, open your mind, observe, consider. Look at what has changed, what has not, and why.

See the very real potential for value that’s just been exposed to the light of day. Envision specific, beneficial, meaningful progress you can create with it, and go to work.

— Ralph Marston

June 8

Mix it up

Be serious and have fun. Be uncompromising and practice forgiveness.

Maintain a strong sense of purpose and stay open to new ideas. Be firm about your values and tolerant of others.

The experience of life encompasses a wide range. Don’t let yourself get trapped in a narrow channel.

It’s highly valuable to understand deeply what you don’t agree with. You gain strength and confidence by confronting what you’ve never been familiar with.

Mix it up. Remain dedicated to all you care about while refusing to be all one way all the time.

Inject some variety, contradictions, alternatives, and balance into your days. There’s treasure to be found where you haven’t been looking.

— Ralph Marston

June 9

Demanding activities

The more an activity demands of you, the more valuable it is to you. Keep that in mind when choosing what to do with your precious and irreplaceable time.

If it doesn’t require the use of your thinking, your efforts, your resources or skills, there’s not much in it for you. Seek out something else that will be a better investment of your time.

You know in advance that each day will quickly pass. So be prepared to give meaningfully to life as every day’s time goes by.

That way, you can retain value from moments long after those moments are gone. Though you cannot stop time from passing, you can certainly prevent your time from being wasted.

What is this hour demanding from you? Whatever is being asked of you right now represents value that can endure far into the future.

Choose what challenges you, what purposefully utilizes the best you have to give. And you’ll soon be on the receiving end of all that industrious giving.

— Ralph Marston

June 10

Say what

Say what must be said, what adds value to the situation or discussion. But know also when you’ve said enough.

Say what is for you to say, what comes from your experience and knowledge. But stop short of putting words in someone else’s mouth, and let others say for themselves what is theirs to say.

Say what is appropriate for the time and place and circumstance. Leave the other things you have to say for other times.

Say with precision what is accurate. But don’t get so obsessed and verbose with the facts that you fail to communicate the truth.

Say what you’re honestly able to say. And when you don’t know what to say, be honest about that, and say so.

Say what matters, and be quiet about what doesn’t. Speak with truth, with purpose, with respect, and with consideration for all that could happen because of what you say.

— Ralph Marston

Say what you mean
and mean what you say.
Keep it simple.

June 11

Put gratitude into action

Go beyond just thinking and speaking your gratitude. Act on your gratitude.

It’s great to say you’re thankful. Now do something about it.

Tap into the power of your thankfulness. Let it push you to increase your ambition, your competence, and your courage.

Harness the energy of gratitude to create, improve, support and maintain life’s goodness in a multitude of ways. Serve as a conduit through which abundance can flow.

With gratitude, see and appreciate the many forms of value in your world. With gratitude, make beneficial use of that value.

There’s great work to be done with your gratitude. Be eager to put it into action.

— Ralph Marston

June 12

Optimize reality

Difficult situations give birth to valuable opportunities. There’s something good you can do.

Disappointment shines a bright light on what truly matters. You have ways to make a difference.

Conflicts and misunderstandings create a hunger for truth. You can act with genuine compassion and honesty.

The world often seems like a frightening and confusing place. Your love and presence bring healing and comfort.

Your attitude and efforts can cause life to be a more positive experience, for you and those around you. Meet each moment with the commitment to give it positive value.

All the things that happen to you, around you and through you are real. With how you are and what you do, optimize that reality.

— Ralph Marston

June 13

What life brings

When you notice particular weakness in another person, let that prompt you to correct any similar weakness in yourself. When you perceive certain strength in someone else, be inspired to increase that same strength in your own life.

Learn from the triumphs and mistakes you observe in the people around you. Attune yourself to what causes life to be good, fulfilling, and impactful in a positive way.

Your will can wake up valuable abilities and bring them to the surface. Feed that will with experience, purpose and intention.

Allow your spirit to be nurtured and encouraged by all you know, whatever the source, whatever the flavor. Choose to find within every occurrence inducements to grow in strength.

Take in the entirety of what life brings. Gather and direct the diverse energy, then point it in a meaningful and consistent direction.

In quiet times and loud, in struggle and comfort, embrace the moment you’ve been accorded. Then proceed to give new value to life in your own unique way.

— Ralph Marston

June 14

In the doing

Gather information and resources, plan your strategy, develop your capabilities. Then make good and meaningful use of what you have.

By all means prepare well for all you intend to accomplish. But don’t let the preparation be a substitute for the accomplishment.

Your purpose is not to merely amass unused potential. Your purpose is to fulfill the potential to which you have access.

When you actually execute your plan you open yourself up to the risk of failure. Yet without the risk, without the action, without putting yourself on the line, there can be no achievement.

Do what you have prepared to do. Accept that it’s not going to unfold perfectly, and go ahead with it anyway.

Certainly there’s value and necessity in the preparation. Nonetheless, the fulfillment you seek is in the doing.

— Ralph Marston

June 15

Incentive

What you truly care about doing, gets done. What you care about learning, you quickly come to know and retain.

If you’re failing to take action in some particular realm, it’s not because you’re incapable. It’s because you don’t have sufficient incentive.

Just as water naturally flows downhill, your energy flows toward whatever you perceive as most meaningful. The right incentive can push you all the way to the limit of what you can do.

What incentives exist for you right now? What incentives exert their powerful influence on the other people in your life?

Behind every what is a why. Keep that in mind when addressing your own behavior and everyone else’s behavior.

Incentive has always driven action and always will. See it, know it, respect it, and apply incentive to the benefit of yourself and your world.

— Ralph Marston

June 16

Overwhelming challenge

When you feel overwhelmed it’s easy to give up. Yet it’s just as possible to take action.

If a thousand jobs must be done, doing one of them doesn’t feel like much. Yet it is something, and an important something.

To work through an overwhelming challenge, you have to start somewhere. So do that, start somewhere.

From a perspective of inaction, the weeds seem to be growing faster than you can pull them. Yet as soon as you start pulling, you realize that is not the case, that you’re making progress.

No matter how overwhelmed you may be, you have a choice. You can make the progress you’re able to make, or you can become even more overwhelmed.

Pull the first weed, travel the first mile, make the first call, write the first sentence. And transform the feeling of being overwhelmed into genuine empowerment.

— Ralph Marston

June 17

Don’t and do

Don’t demand to be entertained. Do offer to be useful.

Don’t wish for something good to come your way. Do create value out of what’s already available to you.

Don’t fret that there’s not enough time. Do make use of each moment as it comes.

Don’t assume everyone sees the situation the same way as you. Do seek to understand and appreciate the rich variety of perspectives.

Don’t expect anything to be free and effortless. Do experience the genuine fulfillment of making a positive difference for yourself and others.

Don’t ever give in to cynicism and hopelessness. Do all you can do to live life at its best.

— Ralph Marston

June 18

Trendy or dependable?

What’s trendy is valuable and exciting in the moment. But its value quickly fades.

What’s dependable continues to be attractive and useful over long stretches of time. It offers value that endures, that you’re able to rely upon.

Trendy can be fun and entertaining, and it is also a luxury. When you invest your time, your attention, or your resources in what’s trendy, the value returned is likely to be fleeting.

Trendy can make you look smart and exciting to be around. Dependable is not nearly so sensational in the moment, yet it can make you rich in the long run.

Trendy and dependable both have their place. It’s good to keep that in mind, and to keep them in balance.

Enjoy indulging in some trends of the moment. But commit yourself also to the not-so-trendy pursuits that can yield enjoyment, richness, and fulfillment for years to come.

— Ralph Marston

June 19

Create excellence

Excellence is a highly desirable result. Yet the importance of excellence goes deeper than that.

Even more valuable than the result of excellence is the quest involved in getting there. In surmounting the challenges that exist along the path to excellence, you strengthen and expand your abilities.

To create an excellent result you must first develop competence. That competence endures long after you’ve achieved the result.

In this way, excellence feeds upon itself in an upward spiral of achievement. Over time, across varied situations and disciplines, excellence enables more excellence.

Why go above and beyond to create excellence, when a more mediocre outcome is good enough? Because excellence does not end with the outcome.

As long as you’re putting forth effort, you might as well do so in a way that produces enduring value. Do the work to create excellence, and the world continues to benefit long after your work is done.

— Ralph Marston

June 20

Be curious

Carry yourself to wonderful places you never would have otherwise known you could go. Express a genuine appreciation for life and everything in it, by being curious.

Keep yourself well informed about the universe around you while bringing new richness and unique experience into your life. Explore your curiosity.

To unleash your curiosity, let go of any intellectual arrogance you might harbor. For in order to be truly curious, you must first admit what you do not know.

After all, intelligence is more than a measure of what you already know. Intelligence involves being always open to learning new things, some of which will contradict what you already thought you knew.

Though curiosity will often compel you to undertake great effort, curiosity itself requires no effort. Simply drop your pretenses, allow yourself to be curious, and you are.

There is no end to the wonder that you can discover, wherever you are, whatever you do. Be curious, and be fully alive.

— Ralph Marston

June 21

Skepticism

The ability to trust adds great value to your life on many different levels. Yet blind trust is worse than no trust at all.

For trust to work, it has to pass through the challenge of skepticism. Skepticism is not antagonism, but rather an invitation and a pathway to trust.

When someone is skeptical of you and your intentions, be thankful. They’re offering you an opportunity to prove yourself.

When you’re skeptical of someone you know very little about, that’s just being realistic. There’s no need or place for rudeness from either party.

If another person does not welcome your skepticism, politely thank that person and go elsewhere. In such a situation trust has no chance, and you’re wasting your time.

Embrace skepticism toward yourself and from yourself, then follow through with what it demands. You’ll be setting the stage for real, informed, enduring trust.

— Ralph Marston

June 22

Richness that endures

A new toy will not bring new richness or meaning to your life. That’s up to you, your work, your commitment, your time, your effort.

You swipe, you tap, and it arrives at your door in eighteen hours. Three or four hours later it’s not nearly enough, and you find yourself wanting more.

It’s all so efficient, all so fast and affordable. But there’s more to life than quick and cheap and easy.

Kids used to be obsessed with Santa Claus because he would come just one day a year. And they’d have to behave themselves that whole year through, or he wouldn’t come at all.

Maybe it wasn’t the toys he brought that made Santa so beloved. Maybe it was the meaning and specialness he gave to those toys, because he made you earn them and wait for them.

Keep on investing your time and effort, honoring your commitment to a purpose that transcends the shallow, fleeting desires. What you’re earning by doing so is a deep and satisfying richness that endures.

— Ralph Marston

June 23

Small spaces

Somewhere near you is an opportunity to transform clutter and chaos into order and meaning. Somewhere within reach is the possibility of creating beauty.

What place, or situation, or occurrence can you bring to a higher level of order and excellence? What person, or environment, or experience can you help to be more beautiful and creative?

Perhaps it’s just a small corner of a small room, but that’s enough. Whatever gets you to act on the positive possibilities is worth the effort.

It’s common to become cynical when looking out at the wider world. It’s easy to feel that you’re unable to make a difference.

Yet as incomprehensibly massive as the world may be, it is composed of lots of much smaller spaces. Those small spaces are readily accessible, easy to understand, and they respond to your influence.

So use that influence in a good way where it will make a difference, right here, right now. Improve the small spaces in your vicinity, and in a real, discernible way, you have improved your world.

— Ralph Marston

June 24

Active appreciation

Take something for granted and you diminish its value. Take it for granted long enough and you could lose it altogether.

That’s because whatever you take for granted, you fail to make use of. Your inattention leaves it to crumble into disrepair.

But that doesn’t have to happen. Because you can make it your business to appreciate.

Appreciation illuminates and gives you access to existing value. Your appreciation informs, inspires and encourages you to build on that value.

Replace resentment and apathy with gratitude and active appreciation. Connect with the boundless abundance that already exists.

Think of all you can appreciate, and act on those thoughts. Continually rediscover and give your energy to the good that exists in your world and in your life.

— Ralph Marston

June 25

Time to ripen

Sometimes you can create results very quickly. Many times, though, you must have some patience.

Flowers won’t bloom any faster than flowers bloom, no matter how aggressively you work at it. Indeed, giving them too much attention and handling can actually damage them and prevent them from blooming.

The same is true for all sorts of endeavors. You have to be ambitious and diligent about doing the work, and patient about getting the results.

But that’s really not such a bad thing. Because the longer you must wait, the more you value and appreciate whatever you’re waiting for.

Patience is not merely being idle and dispassionate. Rather, it’s an understanding and acceptance of the fact that good things can take time to fully emerge.

Give the desired results in your life the time they require, the time they deserve, the time that brings meaning and richness. Do swiftly and eagerly what you must do, and go forward with patience as the fruits of your labor take time to ripen.

— Ralph Marston

Always put gratitude into your attitude.

June 26

Quickly recover

You had the best of intentions, and even got off to a great start. Then you were hit with a totally unexpected disruption.

You can’t turn back the clock and prevent it from happening. Anger, resentment, complaints and self pity might feel appropriate, but they’re not going to improve your situation.

That’s up to you. Fortunately, you’re fully capable and well positioned to do it.

Make it your purpose to quickly recover. No, you certainly didn’t want to have to do so, but now it’s your best way forward.

Accept what’s happened, start with what you have, what you’re left with, and take a positive, productive step. Feel the power of your own intention, the effectiveness of your own action, and keep that feeling going.

You got started, you got ambushed by life, but now you can be right back at it. Make that choice because it’s your best one, and discover how you can prevail no matter what.

— Ralph Marston

June 27

What you allow

If you allow anything to hold you back it will hold you back. Whatever you allow to push you forward will push you forward.

There are many factors, circumstances and influences flowing through your life. Whether each one is a liability or an asset is to a large degree up to you.

Great disappointments and tragedies can arise out of seemingly perfect situations. And magnificent achievements can come from desperate, seemingly hopeless conditions, based on what you allow to get to you.

What matters most is not usually the nature of your situation. What makes a crucial difference is what you take from it and what you do with it.

Even in places and pursuits where others may have failed, you have the opportunity to succeed. Even those factors that may have held others back can be your motivation to move forward.

Many things may seem inevitable, and yet most things are really not. No matter what life may send your way, look for how you can use it in a positive, productive and valuable manner.

— Ralph Marston

June 28

Your potential

You have plenty of unrealized potential. Whenever you choose, you can transform good things that could be into good things that are.

There is great abundance in this universe. Each day is a fresh new opportunity to harvest and express that abundance in specific, meaningful ways that will enrich all of life.

Yes, it can be done and you can be the person who does it. Yes, it will take significant effort and you are able to make that effort.

You’ve already proven how capable you are by navigating your way through life’s many and varied challenges up to this point. Now, use that same power to take on new challenges and to create new value.

Whatever you have already achieved, you owe yourself the splendid, satisfying experience of working to achieve even more. Your unrealized potential has been waiting long enough, so jump forward and bring it to life.

Throw away all the excuses, step beyond your doubts and hesitations, and go for it. Feel the great treasure that’s already so very close, and make it real.

— Ralph Marston

June 29

Genuine understanding

You have your own perspective, and it is well-informed and valuable. Yet you do not know it all, and it’s a good idea to avoid the assumption that you do.

Other people may often frustrate and annoy you, and you may wonder how they could be so ignorant, immature, misinformed or whatever. But you only see a very small part of their perspective, and cannot possibly know everything that goes into their decisions.

Being overly judgmental rarely does anyone any good. Look for opportunities to replace judgment with empathy and understanding.

Do all you can to live and act with excellence, and expect excellence from others. When people fail to live up to your expectations, find ways to offer help rather than to cause hurt.

Seek to understand, and to encourage genuine understanding in others. Let go of the need to lecture and to rant, so you can spend more of your precious life in a positive state.

Make connections instead of judgments. And make the best of every situation and of every person you encounter.

— Ralph Marston

June 30

Liberated by responsibilities

It’s certainly reasonable to consider yourself burdened by your various responsibilities. Yet it is equally true that you can be liberated by the responsibilities you take on.

Acting with responsibility sets you free from dependency. It offers you the chance to avoid a meaningless existence.

Responsibility pushes you to become increasingly competent. It challenges you into a life of purpose and fulfillment.

You’ll often need to make significant accommodations and even sacrifices to fulfill your responsibilities. However, the prices you pay are more than balanced out by the benefits you gain from living responsibly.

Responsibilities often feel oppressive. Yet life by its very nature is difficult, and taking on responsibility is one of the best strategies for successfully dealing with life’s difficulties.

Responsibility makes your moments, your actions, your thoughts matter. Embrace responsibility, and with each passing day you create an even better version of yourself.

— Ralph Marston