Daily Motivator - April

[willbe275]

One thing that is absolute, and that change.
Guaranteed.

[willbe275]

Three Prayer to Start your Week Off.

Show Me
Your Will.

God, I sometimes struggle with seeing You as a good Father who wants to talk to me. When that happens, help me to remember that when my requests are in line with Your will, You hear me. So today, please show me what Your will is. And as You do that, remind me of Your love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Prayer for Focus.

God, thank You for being the author and perfecter of my faith. I give my past troubles, my current pain, and my future thoughts to You. Keep my eyes focused on You, not on the distractions and worries of this world. In Jesus' name, Amen.

A Prayer to Stand Firm.

God, give me the strength to stand firm against the devil’s tactics. Remind me that my enemies are not the people in front of me. When bad things happen, comfort me and flood my mind with truth. Do not let me forget that I belong to You, and You fight for me. You are in control, and with You—I am safe. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Have a blessed 2nd
Week in the Month of April
One Day at a Time.

[bluidkiti]

April 15

Calm and productive focus

You can focus on any activity. In so doing, you transform it into a supremely fulfilling experience.

Various forces in the world have an interest in defining for you what is enjoyable, what is worthwhile, and what is not. But you never have to buy into the assumptions they promote.

At a deep level, what’s enjoyable and fulfilling for you is being you. That means engaging your interests, utilizing your abilities, and interacting with the reality in which you’re immersed.

Arrange some time and space where you are beyond the reach of most distractions. Then, whether you’re doing what you want to do or need to do, give yourself completely to the effort at hand, whatever it might be.

Experience yourself as you make a difference, and as you continue to do so for a sustained period of time. Enjoy the feeling of taking one purposeful action after another, with no rush, no interruption, no further agenda.

Nourish yourself often with a period of calm and productive focus. Discover again and again how good and right it is to be you.

— Ralph Marston

[Kracker]

AMEN

[bluidkiti]

April 16

From behind to ahead

Are you tired of falling behind? Then take steps to begin falling ahead.

Falling behind happens when you neglect to take care of something that needs to be done. Then another priority comes along and suddenly you’re playing catch up.

All too soon, the problem compounds and you find yourself so far behind it’s difficult to get anything accomplished. Yet you can work yourself out, and work yourself ahead, the same way you fell behind, one task at a time.

Falling ahead happens when you can anticipate what will need to be done, and then you go ahead and take care of it early. That positions you to anticipate the next necessary task, and you can address it early as well.

Before long, you’re so far ahead you no longer are overwhelmed by what needs to be done. You can focus your energy on the valuable, productive and fulfilling activities you choose to do.

Those who get ahead and those who fall behind use just about the same amount of effort, but the difference is timing. Make each effort a little bit earlier than necessary, and that quickly adds up to an enormous positive advantage.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 17

Truth of who you are

Muscles morph into marshmallows when you neglect to use them. With strength and power you gain new comforts, but then those comforts set about to make you weak.

Think right now of what would challenge you in a meaningful way. Then immediately take a step to set the challenge in irrevocable motion.

You are far too valuable and unique to sit idle for long. The comfort of the present intoxicates you, but at a much deeper level your desire for adventure calls.

Do something for a reason that’s more than just being able to say you’ve done it. Align your abilities, tools, preparations and passions with a specific purpose, and go.

Not too long ago, such an approach was essential for physical survival. Now, it’s more necessary than ever to connect you with the truth of who you are.

Who you are is beautiful and amazing. Live to make that truth abundantly clear.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 18

Make the best of it all

Don’t waste your time regretting the opportunities you’ve missed in the past. Instead, make up for them beginning now, today.

Transform every last regret into fresh, new enthusiasm for moving forward. Channel that enthusiasm in a meaningful and precisely defined direction.

Make time work in your favor by making good use of it as it comes. Fill that time with effective effort.

Spend your energy on positive living. Good things happen in your life and your world when you work to make them so.

You have the opportunity right now to do that work. Instead of creating more regret, you can create more value and richness.

Despite the many troubles and shortfalls you inevitably face, there’s a whole lot you have going for you. Make it your business to make the best of it all.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 19

Fill your day with gratitude

Make today a productive and enriching day by starting it with gratitude. Expand the quality and quantity of your possibilities by being appreciative of where you are and what you have.

Let your first thought be a thankful thought. And connect yourself with the abundance that’s all around you.

You can always identify plenty of reasons to be thankful. And that simple act of thankfulness gives power and persistence to your efforts.

Focus your thoughts on the positive aspects of your life, and you cause their influence to grow. Be grateful, and your gratitude leads to even more for which you can be grateful.

Expand upon the richness in your world by expressing appreciation for what you have. The blessings you benefit from are blessings precisely because you see them as such.

Remind yourself of the great reservoir of real value that’s already available to you. Live with gratitude, tap into that value, and you’ll create even more reasons to be thankful.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 20

Live robustly

Even when you’re surrounded by apathy and incompetence, avoid letting it absorb you. Remain true to who you are and the good you can do.

When nearly everyone else seems to be making flimsy excuses and getting away with carelessness, it’s tempting to go along. It can make you question why you should bother to distinguish yourself when no one else is doing so.

Yet life is about more than merely what you can get away with. You gain great richness with what you accomplish, the positive impact you have, the value that’s generated by your actions.

Every approaching moment offers a choice. You can either coast through with minimal effort, or you can wisely invest your full attention, energy, and action.

Whatever anyone else may or may not be doing, you have the opportunity to live robustly. In any circumstance, in every stretch of time, you can add meaning and fulfillment to life.

Seize the opportunity, now and always, to act as if life has great potential. Continue proving to yourself and others that it does indeed.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 21

Tradition

You can learn a good bit from your own experience. You can learn vastly more from the experience of others.

Many values, customs and traditions are seen as antiquated, and most are indeed older than anyone can remember. But just because they’re ancient doesn’t mean they’re naive or unsophisticated or worthless.

You’re remarkably more informed today than any person who lived a thousand years ago. But can you really claim to possess more wisdom than the accumulated wisdom of all the people who have lived since that time?

That massive amount of experience-based wisdom has formed and refined the stories and values now considered traditional. It would be the height of arrogance to dismiss those traditions out of hand.

Certainly people in the past were fallible and made plenty of mistakes. That’s precisely why it can be so valuable to consider and understand the truths that still survive from their experiences.

Put in the work to improve upon what has come from the past. But don’t discard the past altogether, for that would be foolish indeed.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 22

Higher perspective

Don’t waste your effort trying to push the problems down to a lower level. Instead, raise yourself to a higher level.

From the top of the mountain you have a better perspective. So climb the mountain.

Do the work to get yourself above the problem, physically, mentally, spiritually. See the bigger picture, and within that picture will be more possibilities, resources, and connections.

Expand your horizon and suddenly you have a greater area in which to operate. Factors that previously limited you could very well empower you when viewed from a higher perspective.

Consider steps you can take to reach that higher perspective. They likely won’t be easy, yet they will be worth the effort.

Rather than being overwhelmed by any situation, look for how you can rise above it. Work to gain the high ground, and give yourself plenty of good options.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 23

Maybe

Maybe it’s enough to simply enjoy the sunshine of a warm spring afternoon. Maybe you’d be just fine sitting quietly for a while.

Maybe there’s more to life than merely rushing to whatever’s next. Maybe you don’t really need to know everything that happens the moment it occurs.

Maybe many other opinions are equally as valid as yours. Maybe what you fear is not as bad as you imagine.

Maybe there’s more to the story than what you’ve always thought. Maybe a lot of people, things, assumptions, are worth a second look.

Maybe today could be the best day yet if you’d fully accept and allow it. Maybe it’s not too early, not too late, not too much, not too little, but just about right.

Maybe life can be good just because you’re living it. Maybe this is the moment to find out.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 24

Jump start

A thousand things demand your time and attention. It seems you can never get it all done.

So start with just one. Get that completed, and immediately your situation looks a lot better.

When you’ve actually made some progress, more progress not only looks possible, but likely. Get a little momentum going, and it has a good chance of continuing.

Take the first step, even though it feels hopeless, even though you don’t like it. That can launch a whole new attitude.

You’ll soon realize you weren’t as overwhelmed as you imagined yourself to be. It’s great to be working your way forward.

Despite the challenges, despite your reluctance, jump start yourself into action. In just a short time you’ll be running reliably on the momentum of your efforts.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 25

Do better

You’ve fallen short, so now what? Now, do better.

You’ve done good, and what comes next? Now, do better.

Whether you’ve exceeded expectations or failed to meet them, the next opportunity is the same. Make use of your experience and improve on your efforts.

You know to avoid whatever went wrong. You’re able to expand on all that’s gone right.

That puts you in a great place. You’re well positioned and well equipped to do better.

No matter what has been, your best can be yet to come. This is your chance to do better.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 26

Desirable alternative

Sometimes you have no choice other than to fight, but fighting is not a good long-term strategy. Because whatever you fight against almost always grows stronger.

What is a good long-term strategy? Building a more desirable alternative.

Working in favor of a specific outcome is always more effective than fighting against its opposition. And whenever there’s something to fight against, there’s always a cause to work in favor of.

Many factors pose a threat to all that makes life good. You can never hope to eliminate all those threats.

What you can do is work to make the good things in life more robust, more enduring, more sustainable and preferable. You cannot prevent all falsehoods, yet there’s no need to do so when the truth is compelling, accessible and self-evident enough.

Invest yourself in what’s good, not in tearing down what’s bad. With sufficient goodness, negativity can crumble into dust.

— Ralph Marston