Daily Motivator - December

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December 1

You made it through

You've experienced difficult situations you thought you would never get through. And yet you did make it through.

There have been times when challenges seemed to completely overwhelm you. And though you thought you might never overcome them, you did.

You've suffered losses you thought you'd never be able to get beyond. And as painful as they were, you found a way to move forward.

So here you are now, stronger, wiser, with valuable skills, knowledge and experience. Every difficulty that has come, you've made it through, and have grown as a result.

Yes, there will likely be more rough times ahead, and perhaps you're going through some particularly difficult ones right now. So it's good to remind yourself often of those times when you couldn't see yourself making it through, and yet you did.

There's really never any reason to doubt yourself, for each time the challenges seemed insurmountable, you made it through. And even more importantly, going forward, you will again.

Ralph S. Marston

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December 2

A life lived with goodness

You cannot win an argument by arguing. To bring people around to your point of view, you must first win their hearts.

You cannot obtain value without providing value in return. The only way to have value that means anything is to earn it.

You cannot cheat at cards, at love or at life without eventually paying a price that far outweighs anything the cheating brings you. Choose instead to put your energy into living with integrity, to create lasting richness with your time and efforts.

The opportunities are many and the rewards can be great. Don't cheat yourself out of experiencing a life lived with goodness.

Don't waste your precious time clamoring and fighting for what seem to be shortcuts. Go the full distance, make the whole effort, with love as your strategy and joy as your inspiration.

Step up to the challenge of living every day in goodness, true to your highest ideals. Let go of any fantasy that you'll get something for nothing, and discover the immense richness of giving the best you have.

Ralph S. Marston

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December 3

Giving kindness

Giving kindness feels better than just about anything you could get. Giving kindness improves the world, and you can do it any time you choose.

When you become outraged by negativity, then negativity has won. Instead, become kinder, more tolerant, understanding and compassionate.

Make kindness a key part of whatever you say. Include genuine kindness in whatever you do.

Boasting and self-centeredness are quickly forgotten, if they are even noticed in the first place. Kindness is long remembered and deeply appreciated.

Kindness is a sure sign of strength. Exercise your strength with kindness and you grow even stronger.

The world can always benefit from more kindness. Give it some more, every chance you get.

Ralph S. Marston

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December 4

Countless possibilities

Let go of your inclination to find something wrong. Give yourself the intention to see what is good, what is beautiful, useful and valuable.

Acknowledge the problems and deal with them. Then let them go.

Stop imagining the world has something against you. Start reminding yourself more often of the countless possibilities open to you.

Allow yourself to be satisfied in this moment. Allow the peace that is always within you to fill your awareness.

Free your thoughts from the distracting echoes of events that are long past. Focus on the new beauty you can create now.

Draw fresh strength from the wondrous existence in which you're immersed. Take that strength, invest it in now, and make rich, meaningful experience with it.

Ralph S. Marston

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December 5

Go to the trouble

Go to the trouble, take the initiative, do the work and make good things happen. Throw off the excuses, blast past the distractions and get it done.

Stand up, step forward, get started and keep going for as long as necessary. This stuff isn't that hard and you can do it.

You'll thank yourself for how good it makes you feel to get the work done. You'll thank yourself again when you realize you've exchanged fleeting moments for lasting value.

The purposeful part of you hungers to make a difference. Get yourself busy and feed that hunger.

Don't sink into the comfortable mediocrity of doing nothing. Challenge yourself to live with the richness you deserve.

Fill this day with focused effort, new experience, and the satisfaction of achievement. Enjoy the rewards you create for yourself and all those you care about by going to the trouble.

Ralph S. Marston

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December 6

Easy to be thankful

It’s easy and natural to complain when life is not meeting your expectations. What if it were just as easy, just as natural to be thankful and to see the good in whatever is going on?

In fact, it can be just as easy, and completely natural, to be thankful. All you have to do is make the choice.

Being thankful is really very easy. It’s even easier when you understand and experience how powerful it can be.

Gratitude gives you a distinct advantage. And it is just as reasonable and just as accessible as any alternative.

Remind yourself how easy it can be to simply be thankful. Then take that easy route to real richness in life.

There is no good reason to deny yourself the power of gratitude. Make the easy choice to be thankful, and you’ll easily be thankful you did.

— Ralph Marston

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December 7

Activate your willingness

Don't let life throw you off track. Do what you have decided to do.

Though the distractions entice, you don't have to give in to them. Though the excuses promise an easy way to quit, you can roll right on past any temptation to do so.

Make a commitment, and then honor it. Set a goal, and then reach it.

Look beyond the immediate moment, and see what you can achieve. With that vision in mind, persevere through whatever comes and make the achievement yours.

Sure, there are factors and forces working against you. Don't be one of them.

Go ahead, take the next step, and the next and the next, until you have done what you set out to do. Exercise your focus, exercise your discipline, activate your willingness to do what must be done, and enjoy all the richness you're able to create.

Ralph S. Marston

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December 8

Free yourself from anger

When anger arises, you can let it go, and create more room for joy. Though you have the right to be angry, you also have the right to free yourself from anger.

When someone or some situation angers you, step back and consider your options. Choose the option that will bring the most positive value in the long run.

Anger can quickly clarify your priorities, raise your energy level and get you going. But anger won't sustain your efforts.

When you've been hurt, it's natural to be angry. But don't perpetuate the pain by hanging on to the anger.

Let the anger go, and transform its energy into positive determination. Direct your efforts toward building and improving, not toward destruction and vengeance.

Do yourself a favor by doing what's best for you and for everyone else. Free yourself from anger, and free yourself to be your best.

Ralph S. Marston

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December 9

Continued path forward

Each failure is an investment in your ultimate success. Don't squander the investment by beating yourself up over it.

Instead, let your biggest failures set the stage for your biggest successes. Let your worst mistakes position you to reach your greatest achievements.

When you learn through actual experience what doesn't work, you're making yourself an expert at what does work. Treasure the real-world expertise that comes from the setbacks and errors, and build on it.

Look objectively at what went wrong, and consider new ways to make it right. Transform the energy of your past disappointments into forward-looking determination.

Whether you get the desired result or not, give yourself credit for making the effort. Then take what you have learned and make another effort.

Keep going, keep learning, keep gathering experience through the ups and the downs. Decide that whatever happens will provide a continued path forward, and it will.

Ralph S. Marston

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December 10

Every ordinary moment

Do you wish to live an extraordinary life? Then be sure to give value, respect and appreciation to the ordinary moments.

A rich and satisfying life is built over time. Most of that time comes packaged as ordinary days, ordinary moments, ordinary tasks and circumstances.

In every ordinary moment, you have the opportunity to give your best, to create new value, to make a difference. The more of those opportunities you make full use of, the more fulfilling life will be.

There is no magic wand you can wave to instantly ease all your burdens and fulfill all your desires. However, you can work the magic of your own effectiveness, bit by bit, in each moment that comes your way.

By doing that consistently, your burdens will indeed be eased and your dreams will absolutely come to life. By harvesting the value of each moment as it arrives, you can create a life of meaning and fulfillment.

This day is filled with ordinary moments, each with its own opportunities. Act now, and work to gather life's treasures as they flow steadily into your world.

Ralph S. Marston

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December 11

Involved and inspired

Get yourself moving, speaking, writing, listening, building and creating, and the inspiration you seek will come. Raise your energy level and you'll attract inspiration like a magnet.

The times when you are most inspired are the times when you are most involved in life. Get involved and you will be inspired.

Speak, and you will find your voice. Dance, and you will find your rhythm.

Work, and you will find a worthy and fulfilling purpose. Step forward, set forth on the journey, and you will find the path.

A ship sailing across the sea is guided by its rudder only when it is in motion. In the same way, inspiration will guide and enhance your life to the extent you make yourself an active participant.

Waiting for inspiration is nothing more than an excuse to avoid effort. Stop waiting, start moving, and live a truly inspired life.

Ralph S. Marston

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December 12

Where the time has gone

Some days can make you wonder where the time has gone. However, the time has not really gone away, but has been steadily making you into who you are.

Though it can seem that time is slipping away, it is not. The moments, the hours, the days that come and then go are filling you with richness, not passing you by.

All the time, you are becoming a more experienced, wiser and more capable version of you. As time moves past it is never lost, but is woven forever into the fabric of your life.

It is never too early and never too late to embrace the moment you're in, to live the fullness and beauty of right now. The more you make of this time while it's here, the more valuable it will always remain in your life.

As the clock continues to tick, see that it measures not what you are losing but what you are continuing to gain. No matter what has happened before, you always can make this moment, this week, this year better than the last.

Time is yours in which to act, to love, to grow, to learn, experience and live. The more of it you live, the richer you become.

Ralph S. Marston

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December 13

Plain old hard work

What transforms a great idea into a great achievement? Mostly, it is plain old hard work.

It doesn’t hurt to be clever or well connected, or to be in the right place at the right time. Yet what matters most to any success is simply showing up and doing the work.

Great big wonderful things of value are built by adding together small bits of value created in the ordinary moments. The most reliable way to success is to be reliable about putting forth the effort.

Though you may have many great and powerful tools at your disposal, don’t expect those tools to do the all work for you. The more you invest yourself in the achievement, the more you’ll get out of it.

Plain old hard work is not something to be avoided, but rather something to be sought after and celebrated. In addition to building worthwhile achievements, it builds you, your skills, your confidence and self esteem.

Seek the work, embrace the work and do the work. In that plain old hard work you’ll find your very own path to fulfillment of the most satisfying kind.

— Ralph Marston

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December 14

Positive feelings

The way you felt up until this minute is no longer relevant. What matters now is not how you used to feel, but how you choose to feel.

If you've felt weary or listless, discouraged or distracted, that's all over. You've just arrived at the opportunity to feel energetic and enthusiastic, purposeful and focused.

There's never any reason to complain about how bad you feel. Because you can always choose how good to feel.

Pick a feeling that will serve you well, and then fill yourself with that feeling. Positive feelings are just as accessible and realistic as negative ones, plus they're a whole lot more fun and productive.

Feel empowered, feel creative, feel motivated and eager to take action. Instead of letting any outside factor get you down, let your own intentions lift you up and push you forward.

Decide now to feel creative, productive, joyful, energetic and ready to give your best to every situation. Choose positive feelings, and act so that life unfolds according to your choice.

Ralph S. Marston

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December 15

Getting your way

Do you realize how much worry, frustration and anxiety you could save yourself by simply letting go of the need to always get your way? Getting your way, just for the sake of getting your way, adds no value to your life, and can seriously sour your moments and relationships.

In a similar vein, proving you're right, just for the sake of proving you're right, brings you nothing worthwhile. Mainly, it gives people reasons to resent you and avoid you.

Trying to impress people with how rich or stylish or sophisticated or informed you are, can also be a big waste of your life. Seek instead to connect in a friendly, genuine, humble and caring way, and your efforts will bring much more fulfilling fruit.

Life gives you too many good opportunities for you to be wasting your time on pursuits that won't do you any good. Put your time and energy not into satisfying your shallow ego, but into making positive, meaningful progress.

Certainly it is important to do what you intend to do and to make yourself and your perspectives understood. Yet there's nothing to be gained by alienating other people in your life in order to meet your goals.

Look for ways to give your love and focused, caring efforts to life. That will bring you considerably more joy and fulfillment than merely getting your way.

Ralph S. Marston