Daily Motivator - June

[bluidkiti]

June 13

No guarantees

Today is not a sure thing. Don’t let that stop you from living it to the fullest.

In whatever you undertake, you’re rarely guaranteed to have a good, positive experience. Yet you can wring a positive experience from almost any situation.

Indeed, what would be the fun of doing anything if you could be assured in advance exactly what would happen? Life can be an amazing adventure precisely because it is so full of surprises.

If you’re insisting on guarantees you’re severely limiting your options. If you obsess over every new experience being exactly what you expected, you leave no room for discovery.

The most valuable things you can add to your life are not sure things. That’s precisely what makes them so desirable.

Whether you attain or experience what you expect, or whether you don’t, today is a great day to be alive. Let go of the need for guarantees, and live the unique beauty of this day no matter how it unfolds.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

June 14

The old way

Let go and move on from what no longer serves a positive purpose. But don’t discard what is old merely because it is old.

If you discover that a particular new habit, perception, or technique is more useful, embrace it. Yet in the absence of a better way, stick with what works.

Just because something is new doesn’t mean it is superior. There’s a lot to be said for what’s been proven over years, decades, centuries.

The old way is not necessarily the best way. But neither is it something to be summarily thrown out.

A whole lot of things happened long before you were aware that anything was happening. From today’s perspective the past may seem unsophisticated, yet massive, enduring value was created in those times.

Go with what works well, with what makes the most sense. Whether it’s a new way or the old way, choose the best way.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

June 15

Enough

Do enough, accumulate enough, say enough, be enough. Seek not less than enough, and not more than enough.

More than enough is not enough, and does not encompass enough. Too much is as undesirable as too little, maybe worse.

If you have too little, you also have the hope and the drive to work your way to enough. But when you have too much, the hope and the drive have no compelling purpose, and go away.

The key is to know that enough is largely what you consider it to be. What’s enough in your honest perception is truly enough.

Trust yourself to know what is enough. Allow yourself to be at peace with enough.

Your presence in this moment is enough. Grant yourself enough wisdom to live it well.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

June 16

Overwhelming challenge

When you feel overwhelmed it’s easy to give up. Yet it’s just as possible to take action.

If a thousand jobs must be done, doing one of them doesn’t feel like much. Yet it is something, and an important something.

To work through an overwhelming challenge, you have to start somewhere. So do that, start somewhere.

From a perspective of inaction, the weeds seem to be growing faster than you can pull them. Yet as soon as you start pulling, you realize that is not the case, that you’re making progress.

No matter how overwhelmed you may be, you have a choice. You can make the progress you’re able to make, or you can become even more overwhelmed.

Pull the first weed, travel the first mile, make the first call, write the first sentence. And transform the feeling of being overwhelmed into genuine empowerment.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

June 17

Where life pulls you

When you’re encountering resistance, you’re fighting against the nature of being. To get beyond that resistance, go where life pulls you.

If you are not sure what to do, stop thinking in terms of what’s to be done. Surrender to the intention that emanates from your core.

Love and appreciate the process of living, knowing all the while that it is taking you somewhere meaningful. Let go of doubts about whether your feelings are right or wrong, and see that each feeling has a good purpose to serve.

You can have setback after setback but you cannot fail to be you. As confusing as circumstances may be, you can always allow yourself to experience the continuing clarity and beauty of your own existence.

Your thoughts about who you are support your ego, which severely limits who you can be. Choose to see the truth of how you’re interconnected with all that is, and explore the limitless potential in which you’re immersed.

Your desires, wishes, and longings seem powerful, yet they are nothing compared to the abiding energy of your true nature. Follow not your mere wishes but rather the reality of your existence, and let your most meaningful and authentic desires come to be.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

June 18

Treasures of experience

Someday you’ll more fully appreciate what you’re going through today. Whether joy or disappointment, fulfillment or frustration, pain or pleasure, you’re adding value in your life.

Look back a little ways, or a long way, and you’ll see. You continually leave the past behind, yet you carry forward the rich treasures of experience.

Today is one such experience that will end up serving you well. Do what you can, do what you must, to work your way through.

Expect good things, but don’t beat yourself up if you fail to get it perfect. Give your best, and know that time will amplify the value of your efforts.

The most difficult moments can also be the most productive. The most uncomfortable situations can instill in you the greatest strengths.

Through the ups and downs, ins and outs of this day, take it all in stride, live it all with integrity and excellence. And know all the while that you’re creating your own unique treasures of experience.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

June 19

Love what you do

Would you like to be doing what you love right now, or at any time? The only thing necessary for doing what you love is to love what you do.

But how can you love an activity that is frustrating, inconvenient, tedious, or downright miserable? You remind yourself that love is always yours to choose.

You can love yourself, the people around you, the opportunities available to you, the interesting things you can learn, and so much more. It is by giving love that you experience love, and nothing can stop you from doing so.

Even when people are constantly being rude, you can love the chance to strengthen your patience. When you’re cold, tired, hungry, and confused, you can imagine and love the endurance of all the past and present people who have had it even worse.

Giving your love requires nothing other than the intention to do so. At any time, in any place, it’s a choice you can make.

When you love what you do it improves what you do, and improves your outlook as well. Love what you do, whatever it is, and immediately reap the benefits that your love can bring.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

June 20

Act on your opportunities

There are things you can do today that you won’t always be able to do. Now, while you can, act on your opportunities.

Life is yours to live in this moment, in this situation, with the world just as it is. Though it’s not perfect, it is nonetheless filled with valuable possibilities.

Go ahead and explore some of those possibilities. Though some will inevitably lead to disappointment, others will bring new treasures into your life.

Very soon you’ll be looking back on today and contemplating what could have been. Now is your chance to fill those recollections with more gratitude than regret.

There are good people in your life with whom you’ll eventually lose contact. There are resources, circumstances, and possibilities now available to you that you won’t always be able to access.

Before today’s opportunities fade into the past, make meaningful value out of them. The only time to live the unique richness of now, is now.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

June 21

Pace yourself

Doing nothing is relaxing for a little while. But soon it leaves you feeling aimless and miserable.

Taking on too much is sustainable only for a short period. Before long it wears you out.

Pace yourself. Undertake enough to keep you involved, challenged, interested, growing, but not so much as to deplete you.

Push yourself to keep going, while stopping short of pushing yourself over the edge. Kick back, unwind, and re-energize your spirit, while taking care not to fall into sluggishness.

Your life is not a permanent vacation, nor is it an endless sprint. Learn to recognize the right amount of effort for you, and consistently apply that effort over long stretches of time.

Don’t trap yourself with too much action or too little. Work into a pace that enables you to make life the best it can be.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

June 22

An amazing life

Is your environment noisy and confusing? Let that energize you.

Do you have a large number of commitments, deadlines, obligations to meet? Let that motivate you.

You’re in the process of living your life. What, did you really expect it to be endlessly comfortable and effortless?

Is the road ahead rocky and slippery and difficult to make out? That’s because it’s leading to a destination well worth the trouble.

Let go of your urge to complain about the hardships. Congratulate yourself for having the strength and determination to work your way through them.

Much of what you do is not easy to do, and that’s because you’re living an amazing life. Keep that in mind, and keep on going.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

June 23

Small spaces

Somewhere near you is an opportunity to transform clutter and chaos into order and meaning. Somewhere within reach is the possibility of creating beauty.

What place, or situation, or occurrence can you bring to a higher level of order and excellence? What person, or environment, or experience can you help to be more beautiful and creative?

Perhaps it’s just a small corner of a small room, but that’s enough. Whatever gets you to act on the positive possibilities is worth the effort.

It’s common to become cynical when looking out at the wider world. It’s easy to feel that you’re unable to make a difference.

Yet as incomprehensibly massive as the world may be, it is composed of lots of much smaller spaces. Those small spaces are readily accessible, easy to understand, and they respond to your influence.

So use that influence in a good way where it will make a difference, right here, right now. Improve the small spaces in your vicinity, and in a real, discernible way, you have improved your world.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

June 24

Powerful force

Motivation cannot occur in a vacuum. The sustained motivation to do anything comes from doing it.

It’s not that you must first be motivated and then take action. The action itself is what deepens and expands your motivation.

You won’t be able to just pull a reason to care out of thin air. What gives you a reason to care is your investment of time and energy in caring.

Stop searching for a reason, or hoping one will fall out of the sky. Start making one with your time, your energy, your actions.

The more steps you take, the more you will come to care about the destination. Start by acting on faith, and soon you’ll be acting with motivation, momentum, and a clear sense of meaningful purpose.

Engage the powerful force that is your life. And continue to discover all the goodness that force can bring into being.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

June 25

The boss

You have significant control over your actions, your thoughts, your feelings, your words, your opinions. It’s not total control all the time but it’s a whole lot more than anyone else has.

The positive and purposeful exercise of that control is called discipline. It is something you can improve upon every day.

The more you experience yourself exercising discipline and the more you experience the rewards of that discipline, the stronger it grows. Certainly there are times when discipline does not come easy, and those are the times when it has the greatest positive impact.

What small part of your life today can you exercise more beneficial control over? Do that consistently, repeatedly, and the benefits will spread throughout your whole world.

Reality is always there to impose its discipline on you whether you want it or not. Answer that by getting out in front of reality with your own discipline.

You are the boss of you. Be an exceptional one.

— Ralph Marston

[willbe275]

Keep in motion and you won't grow stale.

[bluidkiti]

June 26

Journey of discovery

You’re better today than you’ve been before. Do yourself and the whole world a big favor and live like it.

You have more knowledge and experience than at any time in the past. That makes the opportunities more valuable, the possibilities more enticing.

Every time you’ve made use of your strength you’ve gained more of it. Seize upon the chance to put that strength, and experience, and knowledge into purposeful action.

Today you have more clarity than ever about who you are and what you care most about. That enables you to keep yourself firmly pointed toward what’s truly fulfilling.

You’ve learned how useless the excuses always are, how giving less than your best so often leads to frustration and regret. Now you can apply those lessons to push you toward excellence and enduring goodness.

Your whole life has been a journey of discovery. Here and now is your chance to put the best of those discoveries to good use.

— Ralph Marston