Daily Motivator - November
 

November 1

Life as it is

This day is far from perfect. Even so, allow life to be good on this day as it is.

There is much you wish to achieve, places to go, things to experience. But don’t be in such a rush to get what you seek, that you minimize what you already have.

The possibilities for the future are amazing. And those possibilities are possible because the present is also so amazing.

Wherever you intend to go, you must start from where you are. Whatever you would like to do, to accomplish, begins with what you have right now.

So take a moment to truly value and appreciate life as it is. The more you cherish what already is, the more you’ll be able to do with it.

This is your starting point, this day, this situation, this life as it is. Connect with its goodness, live it for its own sake, and fill yourself with its positive power.

— Ralph Marston

November 2

When you’ve got a moment

No achievement is too small. Because every achievement adds to your momentum.

When you only have time to make one phone call, make that phone call. Even though you may not be able to get a whole lot done, you can get something done.

And doing something, no matter how small, is vastly better than doing nothing at all. Any time, now for example, is a great time to get a little bit accomplished.

Sure, it’s more efficient to paint the whole room in one session than to paint only one wall at a time. Just make sure you don’t waste a lot of good, useful time waiting for the most efficient situation.

Make use of the time you have to achieve what you can. Each achievement lays the groundwork for more, and builds in you a positive habit of getting things done.

When you’ve got a moment, you’ve got an opportunity to make some progress. Grab each opportunity and go with it, every chance you get.

— Ralph Marston

November 3

Fully committed

Taking action without being fully committed to it can be worse than taking no action at all. Because your efforts will be largely wasted when you’re hesitant about them or resistant to them.

Ultimately, it’s your choice whether to act or not. Yet once you make the choice to act, follow it with your full commitment.

You must have yourself on your own side if you intend to make any progress. You won’t get very far if you’re working against your own doubt or resentment.

If you’re going to do it, commit yourself fully to it. Commitment is a decision you make for yourself, regardless of the circumstances, regardless of whose idea it was originally.

Commitment means putting your heart into whatever you’re doing. If you have no desire to be fully committed, then you really have no reason to merely go through the motions.

Instead of fighting against your own resistance, be supported and lifted, pushed forward by your own commitment. It will make the difference between failure and success.

— Ralph Marston

November 4

What you’re looking for

What you see depends on what you’re looking for. Take a moment and ask yourself today, what are you looking for?

If you’re looking for evidence that the world is in a mess, you’ll find plenty of it. If you’re looking for good reasons to be hopeful, positive, enthusiastic, you’ll discover an abundance of them.

Try as you might to experience purely objective reality, it’s just not possible. Because your experience has as much to do with you as with the experience.

With that being the case, you might as well make the best of it. Your perspective and your attitude have a powerful and unavoidable influence on your life, so choose to make them positive and purposeful.

You cannot magically improve the outer world by improving the way you think about it. What you will do, however, is to dramatically improve your success at dealing with it.

Look for the best in life, and expect to find it, to experience it, to live it. From your positive perspective you’ll find the energy, the resources, the inspiration and persistence to create positive results.

— Ralph Marston

November 5

Joy and grace

Put joy and grace into this day. Have fun, jump into some adventure, make a little mischief.

Go up in the air and come down where it surprises you. If what you’re doing doesn’t gush out tears of joy, do differently.

Pages torn off the calendar cannot change the fact that you’re just getting started. See with fresh wonder the possibilities as they grow in value and number.

Leave the pundits to do their punditry and the worriers to do their fretting. You have your life to live, your work to do, your gifts to offer the world.

Express your love, your caring, your concerns with positive action rather than with anxiety. Always know you can respond with joyful intention to whatever way events play out.

In what you do, do your best. And joyfully embrace the rest with grace, confidence and purposeful energy.

-Ralph S. Marston

November 6

Consider this possibility

Always, possibilities surround you, your work, the people in your life, your dreams for the future. Many of those possibilities, you have never considered.

When you and another person strongly disagree, consider this possibility. In some very significant ways, you might both be right.

When every attempt fails to bring fruit, when every path is blocked, consider this possibility. There is some other path, some other strategy, some other approach with which you will succeed.

When you’re angry, annoyed, offended by what someone else has done, consider this possibility. That person’s behavior is their problem, and is much more about them than it is about you.

You’ve seen many possibilities become real, yet you haven’t seen them all, not by a long shot. In every situation, be assured that there are many more possibilities than you’ve ever imagined.

Life becomes challenging, and what has served you well in the past may no longer work. Even so, take heart, for there’s always another great possibility ready and waiting for you to run with it.

— Ralph Marston

November 7

Something unexpected

Something unexpected will happen today. Decide right now that when it comes, you will treasure it.

Something will come along that you didn’t plan for, and at first you might feel anger, fear, annoyance, resentment. But look more closely, and see if there is some kind of new value you can gain from it.

You’re smart to anticipate and prepare for what is likely to occur. Yet you can also find great benefit in embracing what’s unlikely, unusual, unexpected.

Something unexpected can help you discover skills, preferences, ideas you never knew you could have. Something unexpected can nudge you to look at life from a new, more enlightened perspective.

It’s good to stay focused, but don’t be too quick to judge when something unexpected disrupts that focus. Every so often, disruption can be invigorating.

Be prepared for not being prepared, be expecting what you could never expect. And find a way that you can employ it to add new richness to your world.

— Ralph Marston

November 8

Be good to now

Be good to now. Be good to you.

Gently bring your attention back to what matters. Offer yourself the gift of peace in this moment.

Let go of the games that ego wants to play. Allow kindness, goodness, generosity to recharge your spirit.

Add joy to your presence and feel it build upon itself. Give love to the moment, to the situation, to the world, and lose yourself in its healing power.

Embrace the value in each challenge, in each turn of events, in every person you encounter. Draw energy and inspiration from the beauty in all things, from the abundance that surrounds you.

Give your love and goodness to now completely. Open the whole of yourself to live it fully.

— Ralph Marston

November 9

The strong one

You gain nothing by perpetuating negativity. You gain much when you redirect it into a more positive purpose.

The most powerful response to selfishness and thoughtlessness is not more selfishness. Respond with power by responding with generosity and kindness.

Why would you offer generosity to someone who is rude or inconsiderate? Because it puts you firmly in control of your attitude, of the situation, rather than the other person.

It might be instinctive to want to meet hurtful behavior with more hurtful behavior. But all it does is create more pain, and that’s not what you want.

What’s in your best interest is to quickly put an end to the hurt. What’s in your best interest is to move your awareness, your attitude, your actions, your life into a positive, effective state.

Be the strong one in the interaction, in the relationship. Be the one who acts with positive power.

— Ralph Marston

November 10

Find your way

When you’re unsure about what to do or how to do it , that’s not an excuse to do nothing. On the contrary, it’s a very good reason to take action.

The answer won’t come by just pondering the question. The answer will come by getting more involved in life.

If you’re looking for something you’ve misplaced, you don’t just sit in one place. You get up and move around, looking in many different locations.

Get yourself in motion and you’ll see a whole lot more possibilities. Take action, and you’ll quickly zero in on the best action to take.

When you took your first step as a baby, you had never walked before, but that didn’t stop you. You stepped forward anyway, and as a result you were soon walking very well.

That same determination, that same ability to learn how to proceed is still in you today. So step forward, take action, and you’ll quickly find your way.

— Ralph Marston

November 11

Intentional choices

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Be driven by intentional choices, by what will make a difference in your life, not by momentary whims.

Every day, every hour of your life, is precious. Invest your time accordingly, doing what really matters, and being present for those you love.

There’s plenty of time for you to have an awesome life, whatever your age, whatever your situation. Just a few minutes spent in the service of what you care about is enough to make the day an amazing one.

You can choose today to rise above the petty disputes and meaningless diversions. You can choose to focus on the beauty, the possibilities, and work to create new richness.

Every time you feel joy, sadness, regret, enthusiasm, let the feeling remind you of all that truly matters. And re-dedicate yourself, your time, your energy, your efforts to those things.

This day is filled with choices, and those choices can take you far. The life you wish to live becomes real as you continue to choose it in every moment.

— Ralph Marston

November 12

Stronger than negativity

Being positive is not a matter of hiding or denying what’s negative. Being positive is being stronger than the negativity.

When you’re wrong, admit it. Then you can let the error go, correct it, and move forward.

When you’re frightened, admit it. When you no longer fear the fear itself, that fear loses power and you gain the strength to deal with it.

When something is not working, admit it. The sooner you do, the more solidly you can move on to something else.

You have the power to face the problems, to act on them, to come out ahead. Engage that power by admitting what’s wrong, by choosing to see it clearly.

Have the courage to shine a bright light on what’s holding you back. And you’ll find the strength to move successfully beyond it.

-Ralph S. Marston

November 13

Essential structure

Purpose puts essential structure in your life. Purpose gives you a way to connect to value, a way to distill life’s abundance into usable form.

Be honest and thorough with yourself in knowing what you care about, what drives you and energizes you. Build each day, each undertaking, each relationship on the solid foundation that is your purpose.

Your purpose constitutes a realm in which you can make sense of whatever happens. And purpose enables you to respond with meaningful, effective action.

Each feeling you have is a message from your purpose. Embrace those feelings, pay attention to them, and keep the connection to your purpose strong.

You’ve experienced how highly effective you can be when acting in the service of authentic purpose. Whatever you can tie to your purpose, you can excel at doing.

So keep your purpose clear and present in your awareness. Live in accordance with purpose, and live at your highest and best.

— Ralph Marston

November 14

Leadership by example

The most effective leadership is leadership by example. The most effective persuasion is persuasion that’s based upon your own behavior.

When you seek to influence others in their actions, first take those actions yourself. Live what you advocate, when others are watching, and even when they are not.

Your most powerful, credible statements are not made with words. They come from the deeds you do.

People are quick to discount, disbelieve and ignore what you say. It’s much more difficult for anyone to ignore what you actually do.

Live what you advocate, consistently, in all different situations. Live what you advocate, especially when it is not the easiest choice.

Know that every choice is an opportunity to set a positive example. Live what you advocate and you will be a leader, respected, credible, influential and highly effective at lifting up all of life.

— Ralph Marston

November 15

Ideal moment to start

Achievement is a thrill that has no equal. Experience yourself achieving today, and feel again how great you feel when making a difference.

Although you may not get it perfect, you can get it done. You’ll know the incomparable satisfaction of working through the challenges, one by one.

The world will change today with or without you. The more you actively participate in those changes, the more they will be to your liking.

Be especially good to yourself today by giving yourself plenty of meaningful work to do. Enable yourself to look back on this day with genuine gratitude for the way you lived it.

If you’ve been waiting for the ideal moment to start, this is it. The sooner you do the work, the greater positive impact it will have.

So jump in early, make the effort, and keep at it. Give this day the best you can give, and enjoy each contribution you make to the goodness that is life.

— Ralph Marston

November 16

Be in this moment

Be in this moment. Do not judge it.

Allow all that is. Do not resist it.

Peace is present when you let go of striving. Richness fills you when you let go of need.

Your thoughts are powerful and they serve you well. Yet those thoughts lose their power when they become ceaseless and frenzied.

Life is much more than just thoughts and sensations. At the heart of your life is peaceful, powerful stillness.

Let yourself know that peace, that stillness, that essence. Be in it now, be in it often, and live with the true power that is your being.

— Ralph Marston

November 17

Positive action

Positive action is only a single, momentary choice away from a negative mindset. Make that choice and suddenly you are free of the negativity.

When you are feeling cynical, dismayed, angry, frustrated, decide to abruptly interrupt that pattern. Point your considerable amount of energy in a positive direction.

Whatever may have already happened, there is nothing at all that says you have to continue on a destructive trajectory. You have every reason in the world to turn it all around with positive action.

Imagine how great that transformation will feel. Know that it is absolutely within your power to make it, immediately.

When you’ve sunk into the deepest depths, even a tiny positive change can feel like the best thing ever. Make that change, feel its goodness, its rightness, and build on it.

Activate the control you have, utilize the choice you have and transform a negative perspective into positive action, positive power. Take the energy you’ve paid dearly to generate, and turn it all toward something beautiful.

— Ralph Marston

November 18

The results you seek

Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re making progress when you aren’t. Don’t let being busy become a substitute for being effective.

You deserve to get results from your efforts. So insist on those results from yourself.

What you measure, you can control. So take stock of your efforts, measure the results, be honest about them with yourself.

It’s all too easy to excuse and rationalize your own ineffective, wasteful behavior. Don’t let yourself get away with that, because the time and effort you’re wasting are your own.

Set specific objectives, put them in writing, and use them to evaluate your performance. Good intentions are fine, yet ultimately your concrete results are what matter.

Objectively measure the effectiveness of your actions, adjusting your efforts accordingly. And you’ll enable yourself to create the results you seek.

— Ralph Marston

November 19

Immensity of substance

The most effective you’ve ever been, is still within you. The greatest joy you’ve ever known, is still within you.

You carry with you every passion, every purposeful feeling, every act of kindness and compassion. Take a moment, let your awareness sink into your very center, and feel it all.

You’ve been up, down, delighted, disappointed, joyous, fearful, focused and peaceful. Consider the immensity of your life substance, and think of what you can now do with it all.

See that you are a dynamic bundle of energy and possibility driven by purpose and love. To any situation, you bring a unique and valuable expression of life.

Today, find strength and confidence in how far you’ve come. Right now, find new ways of adding to the rich substance that is already yours.

Rise above the concerns, frustrations, distractions of the moment. Feel the substance, the goodness, the momentum, and carry it forward.

-Ralph S. Marston

November 20

Yours to create

There is no real fulfillment in just having things handed to you. Where fulfillment arises, is in the process of creating it.

Human civilization has become a highly efficient desire fulfillment machine. And the people working to create fulfillment benefit much more than those to whom the resulting trinkets are delivered.

Nothing of value has any meaningful value to you if you have not worked to earn it. When it seems you’re getting something for nothing, what you’re really getting is nothing for nothing.

Like beauty, value exists in the eye of the beholder. Value accrues to you when you invest yourself in it.

Every moment is an opportunity to make such an investment. You are made to make a difference and each time you do, your life grows in richness.

Invest your time, your attention, your effort, expertise, resources, your care, spirit, joy. Always, great fulfillment is yours to create.

— Ralph Marston

November 21

Great hope

Today, you have great hope. Today, you can act on that hope.

Hope will not accomplish anything on its own. Yet with sufficient hope in your heart, there is no limit to what you can accomplish.

Hope has no need of being reasonable or realistic to work its magic. Choose to act with hope, and its power is yours.

Certainly it is true that many hopes are never realized. But even when hope disappoints, living with hope is preferable to living without it.

You cannot know what the future will be, yet you do know how you hope it will be. And you can put that hope into action.

So go ahead, hope for the best you can imagine. And give solid positive direction to your thoughts, your actions, your time and your life.

— Ralph Marston

November 22

Immensity of abundance

Marvel anew at the beauty that is life. Let wonder and amazement sink deep into your being.

Remind yourself of possibilities that have no limit, no end. Feel the immensity of abundance in which you are cradled.

For now, let it all be. Take a moment to appreciate the fact that you can take a moment to appreciate.

It is no small thing to be alive, to be aware, able to choose, to give love, to know joy. Enjoy a slow, relaxing breath as you consider your good fortune.

Light, darkness, warmth and cool, sweet, bitter, vibrant color, gentle sounds punctuate this existence. The whole experience is yours right now.

Take it in, embrace the beauty, the possibilities, the wonder. Commit yourself to make new meaning and goodness with it all.

— Ralph Marston

November 23

Giving

The way to truly feel good is to do what truly is good. Giving feels so good because it is so good for everyone involved.

Good things we associate with modern life came into being because people found a way to make a positive difference in the lives of other people. To the extent we give, we thrive.

Give, not because it is an obligation, or because you’ve been guilted or shamed into doing so. Give because it is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself.

Giving expands your influence and your significance. And it does so in a way that is beneficial for you as well as for those people your giving touches.

Give, and there is no doubt that you matter, that your life has meaning, purpose. Indulge yourself again and again in the great feeling of making a positive impact in your world.

Let generosity infuse your every action, thought, choice, encounter. And relish the experience of a life that increasingly improves because of what you give.

— Ralph Marston

November 24

Where the joy is

Where is the joy in your life? It is wherever and whenever you choose to accept it and to live it.

You cannot get joy by taking it away from others, for it disappears as soon as you try to possess it. Nor can you experience joy by burdening it with all sorts of conditions and limitations.

The joy you seek is closer than you think. How many times have you looked right past it, straining to see it in the distance when it is already upon you?

Joy is not found by arriving at its locale. Joy is experienced by allowing it into the moments you live.

If you fear losing joy you will never really know it. Let go of the need to hold it, of the need to contain it, and you’ll truly experience the immensity of joy.

Think not of where joy begins and where it can end, for all that will do is keep it away. The joy of life is yours to know, so simply let it be.

— Ralph Marston

November 25

You can persist

Push forward, then push forward more. Persist in your effort for another minute, then another hour, then another day.

The best choice is not the easiest choice. The best way forward is not the most comfortable way forward.

Yet you can do it, and you can continue to do it. As difficult, inconvenient, tiresome as it may become, you can take the next step, and the next.

What’s quick and easy has already been done, has already lost its value. You have the fortitude to go far beyond that, to create great new achievement and fulfillment.

The moments come, the hours arrive, the days flow into your life filled with new challenge. Persist, and transform the challenges into value, experience, strength and richness.

You’ve already experienced your own persistence, and now is your chance to add to it. Keep going, because you can, and because of all the good things you will bring into being.

— Ralph Marston

November 26

Live your value

Do all you can to be capable and competent, decisive, effective, successful. But don’t let your whole identity get wrapped up in those things.

You are more than your capabilities, more than your achievements. Those things are great, and important, yet they are things you do, not who you are.

No loss, no failure, no reversal of fortune can diminish the true and unique value of you. You can do impressive things as well as humiliating things, and still your beautiful essence remains.

Achievements large and small are concrete expressions of the value that is your life. Yet that value is always there, with and without the achievements.

From deep inside, you feel driven to share the value of your life and to build upon it. You do so with your efforts, your words, your presence.

And no matter what you do, or fail to do, or how you appear in the eyes of others, the value is ever there. Know this always, and feel the confidence to live your value with authenticity, kindness, love and joy.

November 27

Make it special

What makes something special is that you must forgo other things in order to have it. If there is no missing out on something else, there is no special.

You cannot have it all, and even if you could, it would be meaningless. Because having it all would make it impossible for anything to be special.

What you can do is focus your time, attention, love, resources in a specific direction. What you can do is give your life to what you truly care about.

There are always people, possessions, experiences you’re missing. Yet you never have to miss out on the richness of life.

Just because something is exotic, or looks impressive when you post it online, does not make it special. What makes anything special is committing your care, your focus, your effort to it.

You can make right now special, right now, where you are, with what you have. Life is yours and at any time, in any circumstance, you can fill it with meaning, substance, beauty and love.

— Ralph Marston

November 28

Value your time

Once a moment is gone, you cannot get it back. Spend each one wisely, with intention, with purpose, with meaning.

Your time is more precious than just about anything else you have. For it is with time that you create, access and experience all else.

Don’t let yourself be tricked into providing it too cheaply. What appears to be a bargain in terms of money can end up imposing a terrible cost on your irreplaceable time.

Do you constantly feel you have too little time? That’s a strong indication you’re not placing a high enough value on the time you have.

Each day comes to you with plenty of time for rich, creative, meaningful living. Hold every moment to a high standard, and insist on spending them all engaged in what truly matters.

Time is your opportunity to fill life with great treasure. Make good and meaningful use of every single minute.

— Ralph Marston

November 29

Truth of who you are

Let go, for a while, of thoughts racing through your mind. Give yourself a little time to just be.

You are not your job, your possessions, your impressions, fears, achievements, anxieties. Drift gently into the part of you that existed before those things, that still exists beyond them all.

Release your awareness from limitations you’ve been placing on it. Allow feelings unhindered by labels, with no assumptions, no judgment or pressure to do anything about.

Go back to who you’ve always been and discover what you can now become. Your best possibilities have been hiding in plain sight, waiting until you’re authentic enough to see them.

Dissolve every desire for pretense and allow love to be your guide. Remind yourself how wonderful it is to love life in the way you do.

Endless energy surrounds you and is yours the moment you no longer need it. From the truth of who you are comes the best that you can be.

— Ralph Marston

November 30

Serendipity

Sometimes the most powerful agenda is not to have an agenda. There’s even a pleasant name for it, serendipity.

Precise planning, specific purpose, clarity of intention will get you far. Yet when you’re always following a strictly prescribed course, there’s something missing.

Allow yourself time to be curious, to not know, to discover. Make some mistakes and false starts, secure and confident enough not to care about them.

Side roads, literal ones and the figurative ones too, inject new energy and freshness into life. Turn onto one of them, then another, roll the windows down, feel life from a new perspective.

It’s great to have a clear plan, yet that plan must originate somewhere. To know what you want to do, you must do what you don’t know.

Now and then, venture away from the structure you’ve built into your life. Make room for some serendipity, and give your spirit a chance to be renewed through discovery and surprise.

— Ralph Marston