Daily Motivator - January

[bluidkiti]

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

[bluidkiti]

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

[bluidkiti]

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

[bluidkiti]

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

[bluidkiti]

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

[bluidkiti]

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

[bluidkiti]

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

[bluidkiti]

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

[bluidkiti]

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

[bluidkiti]

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

[bluidkiti]

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

[bluidkiti]

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

[bluidkiti]

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

[bluidkiti]

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

[bluidkiti]

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