Daily Motivator - May
 

May 1

Use of time

Your time is one of the most precious things you have, and no hour, no moment, no day can ever be replaced. Keep that in mind when choosing how to spend your time.

The way you use your time, now, in the next hour, in the next few days, determines the way your life unfolds. It is a great opportunity that keeps on presenting itself to you.

Over and over again, you have the chance to make wise and productive use of your time. You have the chance to exchange the fleeting moments for lasting value.

Every now and then, step back and look at what you’re doing. Remind yourself to make the most of the great opportunity you have in each moment.

Tomorrow can be markedly improved as a result of the way you use your time today. By using your time wisely, you can transform the richness of this moment into a richness that continues in your life for years to come.

You have just as much time today as the most accomplished person alive. Now is your time to make it count.

— Ralph Marston

May 2

Offer serenity

There are times and circumstances when life offers you serenity. There are many more times when you can offer serenity to life's circumstances, whatever they are.

Serenity is a powerful, effective state. Serenity enables you to be purposeful, intentional, and focused rather than fearful, anxious and reactionary.

You can choose to hold a powerful, peaceful sense of serenity within, no matter what is going on around you. When you do, that serenity flows outward to great benefit.

Let the constant chattering of your thoughts subside. Release the need for judgment and worry.

See that the most important thing is not who wins or who loses. What really matters is the preciousness of life itself, and adding richness to life.

For the moment, allow what is to be what is. Feel the deep serenity and in that good feeling see and follow a positive way forward for all.

Ralph Marston

May 3

Gain your strength

The more you feel your weakness, the more you gain your strength. Every moment you invest in pushing through the weakness is rewarded by added strength.

If you're out of shape and you walk up a steep hill, being out of shape is not just a concept. You feel it throughout your body.

Yet when you get to the top of the hill, something important has happened. You have become stronger.

Each time you climb that hill, you get even stronger. Every time you experience your weakness and work through that weakness, you gain new strength.

There is no reason to be ashamed of or dismayed by your weakness. Choose instead to be motivated by it, to see weakness as the opportunity it is.

Weakness is strength that has not yet been claimed. Work on the weakness, work through the weakness, and the strength is yours.

Ralph Marston

May 4

Being helpful

You don't have to look far to find ways to be helpful. You just have to be willing, and open to making a difference.

Let go of the assumption that certain tasks are beneath you. Allow yourself to do whatever must be done.

When the choice is between making a small contribution and making no contribution, go ahead, take action. Make the small contribution.

You can't change the whole world in an instant, but don't let that stop you from making what changes you can. There is something you can do, some positive difference you can make, so go ahead with it.

Maybe no one will notice that you've made an improvement in the world, but that's okay. You'll know, and the improvement will be there, and that's what really matters.

You have time and resources available to you right here in this moment, and you can use them for something worthwhile. It feels great to make life better, so experience that great feeling today.

Ralph Marston

May 5

Positive progress

Bemoaning your problems will not solve those problems. Put your focus and energy into working through the difficult situation.

When you have a spare moment, don't waste that moment feeling sorry for yourself or eliciting the sympathy of others. Use it to make some positive progress.

What matters now is not what happened, or how unfair it was, or how much you wish things were different. What matters now is what you do now to move forward.

Today is one big opportunity to take action. Seize that opportunity and continue working on it.

You are stronger than the challenges. The most effective way to exercise that strength is not in one big push, but in sustained effort over time.

Each new moment is your chance to make a new effort, to create positive progress. As you keep going, as a result of your work, problems are solved and goals are achieved.

Ralph Marston

May 6

Quickly recover

Occasionally you will disappoint yourself. Feel the disappointment and learn from it, but don't use it as a reason to give up on what you're doing.

Sometimes you will become distracted and lose focus. That's no reason to give up on staying focused.

Keep in mind that you're not trying to set a world record for the most disciplined person ever. You're seeking to do your best to move forward, so continue doing that.

Don't expand a small failure into an excuse for continuing to fail. Instead, let it make you more determined, more positive, intentional and disciplined.

Get over your disappointment and get on with what you were doing. Rather than punishing yourself for slipping off the path, congratulate yourself for having the good sense to quickly recover.

Continue to expect the best of yourself, especially when you fall short of those expectations. Get back up, get going again, and soon you'll be making great progress.

Ralph Marston

May 7

Critical juncture

Just because you've developed a destructive habit, doesn't mean that habit has to continue. Just because you've avoided certain responsibilities, doesn't mean you have to keep avoiding them.

Life is dynamic, with endless changes possible, and its dynamic nature is focused on right now. Because right now is when you can make those changes and put your life into a new, improved trajectory.

Today is the day that separates the past from the future, and it is a critical juncture. Today is when you can continue what works, discard what is not working, and replace it with a new approach.

In the short term, it's comfortable to stay where you are, to continue doing what you've always done. But if you don't shake things up every so often, that comfort can turn into regret.

You are amazingly adaptable, and today you can put that skill to use. You can take this opportunity to upgrade your attitude, your actions, your expectations and your results.

Today, your past is over and you are free to create a future based on your highest standards and most treasured dreams. Today, do what is necessary to make that future the best it can be.

Ralph Marston

May 8

Be okay with that

There are people who do not understand you. Be okay with that, and then work in a positive way to encourage more understanding.

There are things that will happen to set you back. Be okay with that, and be ready to quickly recover from the disappointments.

Life is not always fair. Be okay with that, find the beauty anyway, and do all you can to offer genuine compassion to those who suffer from unfairness.

This day may not turn out exactly the way you planned. Be okay with that, and make use of it to create new value anyway.

You may not like what has already happened, but there’s nothing you can do to change the past. Your best strategy is to let it be what it has been, to be okay with it, and to move toward the future you wish to create.

Invest your time and energy in new positive efforts where they will make a difference, not in bitterness about whatever has come before. Be okay with the way things are, and be in a position to make them much better.

— Ralph Marston

May 9

Aware of your assumptions

If you assume you can't get the work done, you won't get the work done. What if you could assume differently?

When you catch yourself saying to yourself that the task is too complicated, or the goal is out of reach, stop. Realize what you're saying is just your own assumption, and your own assumption is something you can quickly change.

It's easy to assume you can't. It's much better to figure out how you can, and then to make it happen.

Negative assumptions are made worse by the fact that they don't go away on their own. Once you assume you can't do something, you'll always operate under that assumption unless you make the intentional effort to rid yourself of it.

What are the things you've assumed you cannot do? Perhaps it is time to prove those assumptions wrong.

Assumptions can forever hold you back, or they can light the way and push you forward. Be aware of your own assumptions, and keep only the ones that serve you best.

Ralph Marston

May 10

Not just trying

If you see yourself as merely trying, you cast your efforts in a weak, ineffective light. When you think what you're doing is just trying, you surround your efforts with doubt.

See yourself instead as achieving, every step of the way. Feel the sure and solid connection between what you're doing and the goal you intend to reach.

In fact, every action gets you closer to that goal. So every action is a key part of the achievement.

You deserve success, so go ahead and claim it as you work your way there. Give each thought, each decision, each action the benefit of confidence.

You're not just trying, after all. You're allowing the achievement to unfold through your actions.

So keep it up, with the highest of expectations and enthusiasm. Your achievement is already well underway, and you're sure to make it all happen.

Ralph Marston

May 11

Very good people

No one worth impressing is impressed by your attempts to impress them. Yet everyone is impressed when they sense authenticity and kindness.

It’s a waste of time and energy to merely look good. Put your effort into actually being good and delivering real value.

The most interesting people are those who take a genuine interest in others, not only with words, but with action. Be one of those.

The most respected people are those who act with respect toward people from whom they have nothing to gain. Be one of those, too.

If you’re constantly fretting about what other people think, they won’t think very highly of you. When you’re truly concerned about the welfare of others, there’s no need to worry about what they think of you.

There are a lot of very good people in this world. Value and appreciate them all without condition, and the courtesy will indeed be returned.

— Ralph Marston

May 12

What a good thing you have

You are alive, aware and able in a world of limitless possibilities. Take a moment to consider what a very good thing you have.

With intention, thought and action applied over time, you can bring new richness to life. If that’s not a miracle, nothing is.

It’s easy to get dismayed by the petty little problems, and those challenges that are not so petty. Yet that dismay quickly melts away when you remind yourself of the limitless possibilities in which you’re immersed.

Look around, and let yourself be inspired by the unique beauty of this moment. Feel the purpose and the possibilities that live within you, and commit yourself to expressing them fully.

This world has its problems, yet those problems exist within an overall context of goodness and abundance. You can tap into that abundance and live that goodness every moment of every day.

Open your heart to the abundance, and allow yourself to appreciate how good you have it. Then do what you know you can do to make it even better.

— Ralph Marston

May 13

Boldly you

Live your own life with boldness and authenticity, and you add value to all of life. Expect the best for yourself, fulfill that expectation with honest, effective effort, and everyone benefits.

Being bold does not mean being a brute. Boldly following your own desires does not require that you trample on the lives of others.

There is more than enough abundance for everyone. Life affords plenty of space for the fulfillment of every person’s own unique dreams.

You are here to be you, so don’t be ashamed of that. Celebrate your uniqueness by expressing it in ways that add new and compelling richness to the world.

Every day delivers fresh opportunities for you to show life how good it is to be alive. Do it with kindness in your heart, with respect, love and originality.

The world is hungry for the special value that can come only from you. Boldly and generously, let it flow.

— Ralph Marston

May 14

Decide you will

Decide you will, and then do what you decide. Set an intention, direct the power of your focus and skills at it, and make it happen.

You were born to achieve, are equipped to achieve. Deep within is an insatiable itch to make a difference.

Scratch that itch, again and again. Give yourself the satisfaction of achievement, and give the world new value.

Decide you will, and make it your mission. Decide you will, and keep going until you’ve done it.

Watching achievement from afar is not enough. Do yourself the great favor of participating in the process.

Live life the way that fulfills your deepest desires, by using each day to make a positive difference. Decide what that difference will be, and do the work to make it happen.

— Ralph Marston

May 15

Now is golden

Now is golden, with great value available to be created. Direct your focus and your energy into what you can do with now.

Right now there are possibilities and resources you can tap into. Now, there is the opportunity to make things happen and to make a difference.

Don’t compromise the value of now by using it to obsess over past events that cannot be changed. Don’t give up the chance to be effective right now by worrying about what might happen in the future.

This is the time you can use to take action. This is the time you can use to move your world in a positive direction.

This moment right now is worth whatever you wish to put into it. Yet if you fail to make use of now while it is here, it quickly becomes worthless and irretrievable to you.

Now is golden, so grab its value by taking positive, effective action. Now is yours, so live it well.

— Ralph Marston

May 16

When the pressure is on

When the pressure is on, relax and let your efforts flow. You can do this, so don’t contaminate your work with worry.

When a deadline looms, visualize that deadline as an object that gets smaller and smaller, farther and farther away, until it disappears. In the space that has now been cleared, turn all your focus to the job at hand.

Fully embrace what you are doing, and be thankful for your opportunity to do it. Offer the work your love, curiosity, fascination and wisdom.

You don’t have to be distracted by trivial matters or pulled down by doubts. You have the opportunity to get great work done, so treasure that opportunity and do it.

People are depending on you, much is riding on the outcome, and you have what it takes to surpass expectations. You’re certain you can do this and do it well, so take a deep breath and enjoy the experience.

Though the pressure might be on and the deadline imminent, you’re not feeling any of it. Because you’re peacefully and delightfully focused on the great work you’re doing.

— Ralph Marston

May 17

Challenges you face

When something is holding you back, don’t add to its negative power. Put your energy into working your way around it.

When you see an obstacle in your path, don’t continue to curse it or blame it for your lack of progress. Immediately start working to get beyond it.

If you hear yourself making excuses, you have a powerful opportunity. Stop making excuses and start making changes that will render those excuses inoperative.

Realize that whatever is standing in your way is challenging you to look for new options. Seize that challenge, find a more workable option, and act to implement it.

Pause for just a moment and reconnect yourself with your purpose. Feel the driving power that has already brought you successfully to this point.

Then fully apply that power to the challenges you now face. Before long, you’ll have put yourself well beyond them.

— Ralph Marston

May 18

Enjoy without condition

Whether you’re filling it with work or filling it with play, this is a day to enjoy. So go ahead and enjoy.

You don’t have to waste energy judging whether something is enjoyable or not. Simply choose to enjoy being you, doing what you’re doing, whatever it is.

Enjoy without condition, without expectation, without need. Enjoy what you’re doing, and you’ll be much better at what you’re doing.

Enjoy, and you’ll see life’s richness in every direction. Enjoy, and you’ll see possibilities you never noticed before.

Enjoy, and a special kind of goodness begins to flow through your life. There is great power in enjoyment, and it’s a state you can enter at any time.

Whatever has been, whatever is, whatever seems to be coming, enjoy. And put yourself in position to make the best of it all.

— Ralph Marston

May 19

Audacity to live

You have one opportunity to live this day. Kick hesitation, doubt, excuses to the curb and give your time the respect and effort it deserves.

Do what you know is best, and prove to life how much you appreciate it. Forget about making a good impression and commit yourself to making a great life for everyone.

There is so much abundance, so much energy, so many resources, ideas, opportunities and good, positive people. Remind yourself of the possibilities, of how great it is to love all you love, and then put that love into action.

Don’t cheat yourself by expecting to get something for nothing. Instead, raise your expectations ten times higher than they already are, and then give yourself to life in even greater proportion.

The best things you can ever experience come from pushing new richness into existence. You are uniquely equipped to do that, to make a difference that will be felt by the people around you, so grab that opportunity and go with it, now.

Have the audacity to live every moment with goodness, integrity and purpose. And know once again how great it is to be alive.

— Ralph Marston

May 20

Diverse viewpoints

Those who are weak and insecure jump at every chance to take offense. Those who are strong and confident seize every opportunity to give love and create understanding.

Don’t waste your life seeking opportunities to be outraged. Fulfill your purpose by enacting positive solutions to troubling situations.

If you won’t even listen to a differing perspective, then your own perspective is not worth much. If you think the only way to win is to force your opinion on others, you’ve already lost.

Use your energy to build bridges, not fences. There’s much more to be gained by respecting those you disagree with than by shutting them out.

Attempting to prove you’re right mainly creates resentment. Instead, work to find common ground and discover how much more can be achieved with cooperation than with antagonism.

The world is filled with good people, each with a unique and worthy perspective. Make your own perspective even more valuable by respecting, understanding and positively connecting with the diverse viewpoints of others.

--Ralph Marston

May 21

Make yourself stronger

It doesn’t take much time to become stronger than you are. What it takes is embracing challenge, and making effort, and you can do that.

Improvement is one decision, one action away. The improvement will continue as long as you choose.

No matter how much or how little strength you already have, you can make yourself stronger beginning now. You can become more capable, experienced, resilient, effective, from right where you are, using what you have.

Don’t let yourself fall into the old, tired excuses. Make the commitment to make yourself stronger.

You deserve a life of expanding richness and fulfillment. You owe it to yourself, every day, to build on whatever you already have, to create unique, meaningful value out of each experience.

New strength is yours to build in every moment. Take action, grow stronger, and use your strength to continue adding new goodness to life.

Ralph Marston

May 22

Increase the abundance

If you wish to make an impression on people, don’t tell them how good you are. Show them how good they are.

If you wish to increase your wealth, don’t focus on the question of how to make money. Put your time and energy into creating and delivering unique value.

If you wish to learn more about something, teach it to someone else. If you wish to be loved, appreciated and respected, then offer your love, appreciation and respect.

The way to get whatever you wish is not to greedily grab for it. The way to get what you wish to have is to attract it by the way you live.

You cannot receive anything of real value without giving real value. Sincerely give of yourself, and you cannot help but receive meaningful value as you do.

Life’s abundance has no limit, and is always increasing. Be someone who furthers that increase, and experience the best of the abundance you are helping to create.

— Ralph Marston

May 23

Thankful for what you must do

When there’s work you must do, your best approach is to be thankful for it. The more thankful you are, the less burdensome the task will be.

Effort is what you make it. You can make it a pain or you can make it a source of satisfaction and treasure.

If you’re resentful about what you must do, and reluctant to get started, the person you’re hurting is yourself. There’s no good reason to be that way.

You have the power to immediately stop fighting the effort and start embracing it. Not only will you become more effective, you’ll also eliminate a completely unnecessary source of stress.

Sure, it’s easy to be thankful for the things you love and enjoy. Yet gratitude can be even more powerful when you apply it to situations, obligations and tasks you never asked for.

Be thankful for what you must do. You’ll be better at it, and a whole lot happier while getting it done.

-Ralph Marston

May 24

Choose your best mood

If you feel like your mood has imprisoned you, remind yourself who has the key to unlock that prison. You do.

Your mood at any moment is your choice. You might base that choice on what has just happened, or on something entirely different, yet it is always your choice.

Your mood is never forced upon you, so don’t treat it that way. See your mood for what it is, your choice, and make that choice an empowering one.

If your mood is pulling you down, there’s no need to fight it. Just change it.

Let your mood reflect your best present possibilities rather than your past disappointments. Align yourself with those possibilities by making them the lens through which you view life in this moment.

You can make anything of your mood, so make it one of positive energy and appreciation. Choose to let your mood lead you forward, and it will.

-Ralph Marston

May 25

Give life more meaning

Today, life yearns to be lived. Today, all kinds of new beauty will spring into being, ready to be appreciated.

Today, great joy is present and much more is possible. Today, richness is yours to create, to share, to enjoy, to expand.

Now, you can go beyond wondering, worrying, complaining, wishing, dreaming. Now you can act, and with your actions transform your world for the better.

Run quickly toward this opportunity to fill life today with your positive presence. Join eagerly in the process of making a difference, and feel the sweet satisfaction of doing so.

You have arrived at this day fully equipped to build greatness in its moments. Your unique journey has provided you with a grand opportunity, and it is now.

Listen to your heart, and discover how much you can do with this day that’s now yours. In your own special way, rush headlong into the bright possibilities and give life more meaning than ever before.

-Ralph Marston

May 26

Quality matters

Quality matters. And where quality matters most is in the way you live your life.

The moments of this day are precious, and overflowing with possibilities. Remind yourself to live them with quality and meaning.

If you are doing things just to say you’ve done them, you can do much better. A quality life is guided by love, not by the need to keep up appearances.

When you find yourself feeling envious, impatient, angry or resentful, step back. Take a deep breath and focus your energy on all the things you can do to create a higher quality life for everyone.

Rise above everything that is urgent just because it’s urgent and popular just because it’s popular. See all the opportunities to create meaningful richness, to love, to care, to make a lasting difference, and act on those opportunities.

Quality matters, and a quality life is yours to live right here, right now. Today, and always, life is well worth all the quality you can give it.

-Ralph Marston

May 27

Good thoughts

Your thoughts set the direction of your day, of your life. Think power, think action, think gratitude and think positive.

Think of the people you love, and of all the things you can do to support and encourage them. Think of the values that matter most to you, and of what you can do to express, promote and live those values.

Think of how fortunate you are to be alive in this moment. Think of all the knowledge, resources, experience and skills at your disposal right now.

Think of your dreams, your goals, your highest vision for how life can be. Think of all the ways, big and small, you can make a positive difference today.

Think of the beauty you’ve experienced, of the richness you’ve lived, of the good people you’ve encountered. Think of how great it feels to make someone’s life a little brighter.

Fill your awareness with thoughts of goodness, love, joy, beauty and possibility. Let those good thoughts push you forward into action all day long.

-Ralph Marston

May 28

New moments

New moments are constantly arriving in your life. The only way to get value from them is to use each one as it comes.

You can transform your time into amazing achievements and experiences. Yet you cannot store up time to use it later, or borrow it from the distant future.

Always, the moment to act is the moment you are in. A wasted hour is a regrettable waste of your life’s potential.

Fortunately, instead of creating regret you can create value. Instead of letting time go unused, you can transform it into every kind of good thing imaginable.

Now is when you are alive and now is when you are able to put your life into useful action. Treasure each new moment, live it accordingly, and with that moment you will create new life treasure.

Enthusiastically embrace each bit of time as it comes. And make full, worthwhile use of it before it goes.

-Ralph Marston

May 29

Unencumbered

Today, you can be unencumbered by your own shortcomings. Because you can choose to live your life beyond those shortcomings.

You can decide right now not to continue the self-destructive habits. You can free yourself to think the thoughts and take the actions that will raise you above your past disappointments.

The world will present plenty of challenges to you today. But you don’t have to add to those challenges with your own attitude and behavior.

In fact, you can put yourself in a position to welcome the challenges. You can welcome the challenges, knowing you have what it takes to transform them into life-enriching achievements.

You’ve always had control over the way you think and the way you act. Now, exercise that control to the fullest and most positive degree.

This is your moment, this is your day, energized by the power of your intention. Feel the lightness, feel the possibilities, feel the excitement of being free to soar, and do it.

— Ralph Marston

May 30

Think into action

Let your thoughts lead to action, not to doubt. Let your imagination create a burning desire to move forward, not clever excuses for holding back.

Give thought and consideration to your efforts. But don’t let the consideration take the place of effort.

Imagine in detail how you can add new richness to life, but don’t stop there. Put your good thoughts into action and fulfill the possibilities you have imagined.

Give maximum value to your efforts by thinking them through. Give maximum impact to your thoughts by putting them into action.

When you’ve thought so much you’ve confused yourself, there’s one thing you can be sure of. It is time to move beyond thinking, and to start taking action.

Think carefully and imagine richly. Then get up and get it done.

-Ralph Marston

May 31

Good for life

Assemble the components of this day with confidence, but not with arrogance. Reap the benefits of your own unique perspective, always mindful that every other person’s perspective is just as valid.

Take care of yourself, be good to yourself so you’ll have plenty of goodness to enjoy sharing with others. Live your values, follow your dreams and delight in opportunities to resonate with the values and dreams of those around you.

Take satisfaction and pride in the good work you do, but don’t let that pride spill out into the world as conceit. If you feel the need to prove yourself, transform that energy into a humble desire to improve the world.

Respect and admire the special person you are. Offer even more genuine respect and admiration for every person you encounter.

Make life good for you by making yourself good for life. Be a beneficial force in the world, and you’ll enjoy the benefits of life in a positive, supportive environment.

Carry an attitude that is thankful for everything, entitled to nothing, willing and able to lift up life in every moment. Enjoy living in a world powered by love.

-Ralph Marston