Daily Motivator - December

[willbe275]

Today I'm leaning to put my brain in gear before I put my mouth and drive.

[bluidkiti]

December 16

Power of determination

Tomorrow, many of your frustrations can be gone. Because you can do something about them today.

Tomorrow, many of your goals can be closer. Because today, you can work your way toward them.

Next week, next month, next year, even more problems can be behind you, even more goals reached. Because every moment provides the opportunity to make progress.

Are you disappointed right now with some aspect of life? That disappointment is pushing you to make a positive change.

Feel the disappointment, and along with it, feel the power of your own determination. That power is yours to put to use today.

The very things that would bring discouragement, can instead drive you into effective action. Accept those shortcomings, and let them activate your own ability to make life much, much better.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 17

Treasure right now

Let all those thoughts about yourself gently drain away from your mind. Allow peace to take their place.

The issue of the moment is not you. The issue of the moment is the moment itself, its wonder, its beauty, its possibilities.

You can think far into the future, and deep into the past, but you don’t always have to. Quiet those bustling thoughts, and experience the fullness, the richness, the rightness, of now.

Thinking you have to be somewhere else doesn’t make you important. It just makes you miss out on the treasure that’s already right here, right now.

Stop fighting the fights that aren’t even here, and may never come. Let yourself be at peace, alive, in love, open to what can be, accepting of all that is.

You’ve come a long way to get to right now. Be peaceful, be present, live it now, and live it well.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 18

Saving time

Plenty of products, strategies, and technologies enable you to save time. The question then becomes, what are you saving it for?

Anything that saves time does not literally squirrel that time away to be used later, for that’s impossible. As you save time on one activity, you’re spending that time on something else.

So it’s useful to ask yourself, what is that something else? Your new smartphone is fifty times faster than the old one, and what exactly are you doing with all that extra time?

Faster is better, sometimes. Keep in mind, though, that going somewhere slow is far preferable to going nowhere fast.

The faster you go, the more important to know precisely where you wish to go. If you’re unclear about your desired destination, speed will hurt more than it helps.

As you endeavor to make efficient use of time, seek also to make its use purposeful and meaningful. Whatever your velocity, the factor that matters most is your direction.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 19

Think with quality

Let yourself think with quality, with purpose. Give space, time, consideration, and respect to the thoughts that come into your mind.

You have much to tell yourself. Take the time, every now and then, to listen, to consider.

Expand on those thoughts, question them, nurture them. Challenge them to be more clear, more specific, more useful, pragmatic, compassionate, enlightened and compelling.

Allow your thoughts to lead you beyond what is comfortable and familiar. Refuse to let the same predictable thoughts play over and over again in your mind.

Empower your thinking by putting real effort and quality time into it. Broaden your thinking by venturing deeply, respectfully, into the words and thoughts of others.

Your thinking drives and directs your life. Put your energy and intention into doing it well.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 20

Beyond you

Can you put your problems in perspective? Of course you can, but doing so means admitting you are not the center of the universe.

Can you let your anxiety melt away? Sure you can, when you let go of the notion that everything is about you.

You’ll see more, know more, understand more when you look beyond you. You’ll live more richly, with a deeper, sustaining sense of purpose, when you live beyond you.

Reach out with your arms, your mind, your spirit. Look up, away from your insularity, and contemplate a higher, broader, greater vantage.

Beyond you are countless possibilities you can participate in. Beyond you are forces, truths, levels of experience and understanding that offer great benefit.

Know that you will never know it all, and you’ll know something exceedingly valuable. With humility, appreciation, and awe, be mindful of all that’s beyond you, and be enriched in every moment.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 21

Failure cannot stop you

Failure happens to you only when you let it. And you never have to let it.

An unintended result is a failure only when you see it as a failure. Choose instead to see it as a valuable step toward success.

Then choose to take the next step. You’ll take it with more experience, more determination, more focus and higher expectations.

Setbacks and disappointments occur all the time. But failure occurs only when there is no persistence.

Commit to keep going and failure cannot stop you. Keep going, and no matter how far you fall, you have not failed.

Get back up, go back to work, fix what is broken, adapt to the changes, make another effort. And you’ll never be burdened with failure.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 22

Happy with who you are

Give yourself permission to be happy with who you are, with what you love and care about, with all you can do. Don’t let the shallowness of daily encounters distract you from the profound values that live at your core.

Feel how peaceful it is to be comfortable in your own skin. Enjoy the satisfaction you can bring forth inside yourself rather than being addicted to acquiring more and more outer possessions.

Love yourself for who you are instead of being obsessed with the image you project. Recognize the unique beauty in each person you encounter, and let that beauty be reflected in your own behavior.

Do what makes you feel good on the inside, not what merely makes you look good on the outside. Be good to your authentic self and enjoy the treasures that flow from your deepest values.

Be an enthusiastic explorer in the rich and fertile realm of your own true spirit. There is no telling what wonders you will find, what magnificent experiences you will have.

Make your life about more than just doing and having what everybody else says you should do and have. Be truly happy with who you are, and live the special joy that is yours to live.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 23

Positive path forward

Whatever your current situation, there is a path forward. Your job is to find that path, identify the best course of action, and then implement it.

Your work will not be easy, and that’s a good thing. Because powerful, effective, significant efforts, the ones that improve life, are not easy efforts.

Wishing things had been different, won’t make any difference now. Put all your focus and energy into improving your future, not into rehashing the past.

Whether you’re facing a small inconvenience or a life-altering hurdle, always keep something in mind. There is a positive path forward, and you can choose that path.

Commit yourself to keep on choosing that path in every moment. With each major setback, with each small victory, keep following that positive path.

Life is inherently challenging, and your best strategy is too step up to every challenge. You can do it, always, and you can do it now.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 24

Love for life

Imagine today that you can simply let go of the tensions, of the pretensions, and love your life. That you can love others without needing to control their actions or influence their thoughts.

You can give the best of yourself, and you can let that be enough. You can approach every encounter with a genuine desire to do what is right, what is good.

Instead of seeking to gain advantage, you can discover new joy, new beauty, in life as it is. You can magnify your effectiveness by minimizing the demands of your ego.

Imagine earning the respect of others without inviting their resentment. That happens when you live, and give, with authenticity, with understanding, with love.

An enjoyable position in life is of no use if you’re not able to enjoy it. Your genuine love for life, and for all who live it, enables that enjoyment and fulfillment.

Look at the world, and approach each moment, with a love for life. Let go of whatever engenders conflict, and make space for new goodness to flourish.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 25

Goodness endures

For a world hardened by life, joy appears. In a time dimmed by a million meaningless diversions, the light of truth emerges.

Where angst and cynicism have engulfed awareness, hope begins to rise. When the day is overwhelmed with despair, kindness steps in.

With grace, with humility, with eternal persistence, goodness endures, and grows. Subverting every challenge, goodness finds a place, however small, however unnoticed, to resonate in each heart.

In lives hardened by the world, a spark ignites new passion, renewed purpose. Words of truth transform chaos into order, despair into beauty.

Courage, strength, goodness are not always evident, not always engaged. Yet they persist, and never fail to come forth when needed most.

After a cold, clear night, sunlight warms the eastern sky. And new hope has been born.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 26

Great new beginning

Don’t be dismayed if you’ve been going the wrong direction. Turn around, now, and put yourself on a positive track.

Don’t let your lack of progress become an excuse to avoid effort. Embrace responsibility in this moment, and direct yourself into effective action.

Your shortcomings and mistakes are in the past. Keep them there.

Take the opportunity of this day, of this situation, to push forward. Set your intention firmly on a positive goal, then set about to make it happen.

You can do this. Yes you, yes now, yes from where you are, with what you have.

Grab hold of the fresh, new opportunity that’s right here, today. Your future begins now, so give all you have to make it a great new beginning.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 27

Give life new value

Let yourself be yourself. Stop stopping yourself from following through on your best intentions.

Whatever you seek to do, you probably won’t get it perfect. But that’s no reason to avoid it altogether.

Give yourself permission to do what you can, when you can, with what you have. Amaze yourself at how much you can get done by simply allowing yourself to do it.

Seek to genuinely understand and connect with others. But don’t let yourself be immobilized with worry about what others might think, or say, or do.

Speak your mind, do your work, offer your authentic best. Learn from your outcomes, and adjust your efforts to become even more effective.

Get yourself out there, get in the game, and make a difference. Give life new value using whatever life has given you.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 28

Go ahead and feel like it

Are there things you want to achieve, but you don’t feel like making the effort? That’s great, because the way you feel is something you can change in an instant.

Are you ready? Okay, here is your big moment.

Make the choice, right now, to feel like it. Yes, it really is as simple as that.

You have the opportunity to connect your dreams with your reality. What it takes is your decision to feel like making the commitment and doing the work.

Your feelings can serve as an excuse, or they can launch you into action. You get to decide which it will be.

So make the choice, right now, that will enhance your life and improve your world. Go ahead, feel like it.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 29

A better pathway

When you feel like giving up, remind yourself of the reason you started in the first place. If that reason is still there, still strong, still meaningful, keep going.

Just because your strategy hasn’t worked, is no reason to give up on your goal. Consider what makes the goal important to you, and inspire yourself to devise a better pathway to it.

Feel the purpose, deep inside, that originally prompted you to set your goal. Let that feeling energize you.

Learn from all your experience, adjust your approach, reaffirm your commitment. And keep going, keep following your purpose.

Though the setbacks will sting, they can also teach you, focus you, motivate you. What a shame it would be to waste all that by giving up.

You have the time, the desire, the skill and fortitude to persist. Use it, do it, keep going, and bring new value to life.

— Ralph Marston