Daily Motivator - December

[bluidkiti]

December 1

Here is your time

This time tomorrow, what will you regret not doing today? This is your opportunity to get it done.

What have you been meaning to take care of, that you haven’t yet found the time to do? Now is when you can jump into action and do it.

This moment is too valuable to let it just slip away. It is filled with opportunities for you to make a difference.

Consider all the times when you’ve been working against a deadline and wished you had more time. Here is that time you wished for, now, today, ready for you to put to use.

Think of how great you’ve always felt in the past after a job well done. This is your opportunity to experience that rich feeling of satisfaction again as a result of your efforts.

There’s an endless list of very good reasons to seize this moment and the opportunities that are in it. Go ahead, and quickly make yourself thankful for your choice to do so.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 2

Difficult but not impossible

It’s difficult to get back up and get going again when you’ve been repeatedly knocked down. It’s difficult, but not impossible.

It’s difficult to move forward with enthusiasm and energy when much of what you encounter is negative and discouraging. That’s certainly difficult, yet not impossible.

It’s easy to know what you must do. It’s much more difficult to actually do it, yet it’s not impossible.

There are a lot of very worthwhile things that are also very difficult. Just because they are difficult is no reason to shy away from them.

The very fact that something is difficult probably means it is worth doing. Those who achieve great things are those who are willing to do the difficult stuff.

Sure it’s difficult, yet you can do it. When you do, you’ll be adding richness, options, value to your life and your world.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 3

Ups and downs

There’s nothing you can do today that will prevent all future problems in your life. There is much you can do today that will prepare you and position you to successfully deal with those future problems.

If you’re fantasizing that life will one day be perfect, or worrying that life will soon be awful, you’re wasting precious life and time right now. Instead, use your time today to grow stronger, to live richly, to connect deeply, to increase your skills, knowledge, and wisdom.

Get yourself strong enough, capable enough, to be realistic while also being optimistic. Yes, the difficulties will come and yes, you can live a great and fulfilling life as they do.

Some things about your future you can control and many other things, you can’t. What you always can do is live the moment you’re in with gratitude, integrity, discipline, and love.

Live today so that you can look forward to tomorrow, eager to meet its challenges and fulfill its best possibilities. Stay thankful for all you have, for all you’ve experienced, and mindful of the good you can do.

Life will unfold with its ups and its downs. You can choose to be your best for it all.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 4

Choose to do it now

If you don’t feel like getting the work done now, you really won’t feel like doing it later. Go ahead and get it done.

Instead of putting it off, put it behind you. Rather than spending the next few hours or days dreading the task, spend that time thankful to be finished with it.

The longer you wait, the more you’ll wish you had started sooner. Avoid those regrets by acting now.

Go ahead and commit yourself by taking the first step. Even if you don’t particularly feel like it, once you get into the work you’ll feel better and better about getting it done.

You have work to be done, and you won’t gain anything by waiting. You will gain by taking action today.

Choose to do what’s in your best interest. Choose to do it now.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 5

Turn away from easy

Be wary of easy. Easy can steal your life away without you even realizing it.

What is easy and free is shallow and meaningless. You deserve more than that.

You deserve the experience of pushing with everything you have against tough challenges. You deserve the satisfaction of putting your skill and resourcefulness to use.

It’s easy to sit for hours and be entertained by images on a screen. But you owe yourself more than a passive, secondhand experience of life.

What costs you nothing in time or effort brings you nothing in the way of fulfillment. Turn away from easy and seek to invest yourself in meaningful living.

Life’s richness is found out beyond those things that are easy. Do the work, make the commitment, and fulfill the great potential that is your life.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 6

Reward in the doing

Find your reward in the doing. If there are more rewards at the completion, consider them a bonus.

Go ahead and enjoy the rewards of a job well done, as you’re performing the job. Let the journey be the reward, and you’ll never give disappointment an opportunity to appear.

Seek not to get something out of it. Seek to put something good and valuable into it, and as you do, there’s much you’ll get out of it.

Fulfillment is not found in some idealized future outcome. Fulfillment is available for you to create and live here and now.

Aim toward a specific goal, work toward that goal, and experience its joy from the moment you begin. Feel the satisfaction of making a difference all along the way.

Let your good and useful effort be its own reward. And there will be no limit to the rewards you can enjoy.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 7

Time of opportunity

This is a time of opportunity. This is a time when you can stand up, speak up, and make a difference.

This is a day when you can put your love into action. This is a situation in which you can create new value.

Whatever your age, your background, your level of experience, you have something special to offer. This is a fleeting moment that you can transform into lasting value by virtue of your effort.

Right now, you are the beneficiary of centuries of progress, knowledge, and achievement. The best thing you can do with it all is to add your own flavor to the legacy.

Step back from the noise and commotion of the moment, and look at the big picture. See the immense field of positive possibilities stretching out in all directions.

Opportunity is now, and you are here to seize it, to work it, to fulfill it. Experience today how great it feels to add your own contribution to the long history of achievement.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 8

Proactive kindness

It’s in your best interest to be considerate of the best interests of others. It’s in your best interest to live in a world where there’s more understanding and less divisiveness.

You can’t force others to be kinder, more tolerant, more cooperative. Yet you can set a powerful positive example with your own behavior.

Don’t wait to receive kindness before offering kindness to others. You can be more proactive than that.

You can be the first person in the situation to act with genuine kindness. You can be the first person to listen, to seek to understand, to offer your assistance.

Your kindness will not always be returned. It will, however, always make a difference and set a positive example.

The highly beneficial conditions of friendship, understanding, unity, and peace have to start somewhere. Do your best to let them start with you.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 9

The wonder is yours

Live in wonder of the wonder. Refuse to let your aliveness grow complacent.

See that in each new moment a whole new world is born. Be dazzled by the beauty, inspired by the possible.

Laugh at the worries as you recall how foolish they are. Smile at the opportunities as you find new joy bringing them to life.

Keep your spirit always young, delighted and amazed at every little thing. Warm your skin in the sunlight, cool your face in the breeze.

Never stop discovering again how much you have and how little you need. Never stop making new richness from it all.

The wonder is yours, now, here, always. Live it, love it, share it, be it.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 10

Widen your goal

Are you stuck, unable to make any progress? Perhaps your desire to move forward is too narrowly focused.

Widen your field of vision until you can see more workable possibilities. Let go of some of the particulars of your goal while holding firm to its essence.

Yes, certainly, focus on achieving what you desire. But don’t become so narrowly and exclusively focused on your desire that you render yourself incapable of working toward it.

For example, a larger home might make a major positive difference in your family’s quality of life. But it doesn’t have to be on a specific street or even in one particular neighborhood.

If you’re stuck, your best possibilities are likely to be found among the ones you’ve never considered. But you’ve locked those possibilities out of your mind because of certain details about your goal that don’t even matter that much.

Put your persistence to work, rather than allowing stubbornness to hold you back. Widen your goal enough to open a clear and achievable path to it that you can begin to travel right now.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 11

If you were

If you were to empty the garbage from your mind, what would that process look like? If you were to let go of all the thoughts that hold you back, what would take their place?

If you were to rise above the pettiness of your ego, what would you do in the next moment? If you were to make this time and place a little better, what small factor would you work to improve?

If you were forever free of anxiety and envy, how would you employ your increased energy? If you were to fully realize how good you have it, in what new ways would you choose to give of yourself?

If you were to give voice to difficult truths, what would have inspired you to do so? If you were to give up a desirable but destructive habit, would it really be so painful?

If you were to be more honest with yourself, which of your own excuses would you no longer tolerate? If you were to tackle your most difficult challenge, what’s the first step you would take?

If you were confident of success, what would you relentlessly work to achieve? If you were to live the life you always dreamed of living, what would you do, starting right now?

— Ralph Marston

[willbe275]

Deep��

[bluidkiti]

December 12

Now is your time

Decide to make the best of this day, no matter what others are choosing to do with it. Go ahead, make the most of opportunities that are now, no matter how many previous opportunities you’ve ignored.

The most well-reasoned excuse to do nothing, gets you nothing. A little bit of action, though, can result in significant progress.

Life is not fair, but that’s no reason to throw it away. Life can be painful, but hiding in some dark corner is not the answer.

Even if you’ve wasted the last six weeks, or the last five decades, there’s much you can achieve today. Life is yours right now, so accept full responsibility and rise to the challenge.

Choose to be energized, inspired, empowered by what has been, by what is now, and by what can be. Instead of casting judgments, allow the whole of reality, whatever it may be, to push you into positive action.

Now is not the time for complaints, regrets, or resentments. Now is your time to live the best life you can imagine.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 13

Listen well

Listen, not just for the purpose of constructing clever comments and comebacks. Listen, truly listen, to understand.

Listen, even if you disagree with what’s being said, especially if you disagree. Listen with respect, with rapt interest, with your curiosity at full throttle.

Listen, fully focused, and gain priceless insight. Listen, and benefit from the experiences, the mistakes, the triumphs of others.

Seek not to prove what you know. Seek instead to improve and increase what you know and understand, by listening well.

Listen, truly pay attention, and continually inject new richness into your relationships. Listen, and multiply the value of your skills, your experience, your wisdom and resources.

Listen to learn, to bond, to grow in wisdom and compassion, to genuinely increase the goodness in life. Listen well, to build a life, and a world, in which all can live well.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 14

Progress now

Your problems can be solved, but they cannot be solved in a few minutes. Take the time, do the work, make some progress here, some more progress there, as you can.

Your highest goals can be reached, but not in a magical, effortless instant. Be eager to give your achievements the value of your time, work, discipline, and persistence.

This is a perfectly good moment to create value, no matter if the economy is booming or busted. This is a day you can use to your advantage, regardless of the disadvantages you are saddled with.

Don’t endlessly analyze what might or might not happen. Just do your best with what you know, with what you have, right now.

There are a whole lot of factors you cannot control. Put all those things out of your mind, free yourself to focus on what you can indeed do, and do it well.

Step beyond worry, resentment, blame, anger, and envy. There is real progress you can generate right now, so take the opportunity and make it happen.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 15

Wonder of existence

Life is amazing, even in its most ordinary, familiar aspects. Give your cynicism permission to melt away, and be amazed.

See life today as you saw it for the first time. Open your eyes wide with wonder and curiosity, and be amazed.

Feel the texture, observe the detail, breathe in the aroma of this unique point in space and time. Listen as the rhythm changes, watch as hues are transformed, taste the fresh flavor as each new moment arrives.

You are distinct, beautiful, and at the same time part of an even greater whole. Be amazed at all you know, and at the limitless nature of what you’ve yet to experience.

Glimpse the simple, elegant truth that resonates throughout every complexity. Be amazed at your own awareness of being amazed.

Witness with all your senses, with all your heart, the wonder of existence. Show yourself how good it feels, and how empowering it is, to be amazed.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 16

Stop and start

Stop caring so much about things that don’t matter. Invest your time, effort, energy in the things that do.

Stop pretending to yourself and others that you’re perfect. Your shortcomings make you real, authentic, and besides, nobody believes you’re perfect anyway.

Stop obsessing over who is to blame for the problem. Start working to create a great solution.

Stop putting things off until conditions are ideal. Start to work from where you are, with what you have, doing all you can do with the situation as it is.

Stop complaining that there’s not enough time. Start making full use of the time you have, right now.

Stop cheating yourself with excuses, procrastination, doubt and fear, out of the great life you deserve to live. Start giving all you have to joyfully lift up all there is.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 17

What you remember

Your memory of what happened is not what happened. Your memory is your impression, your interpretation of what happened, and what it means to you.

Each memory can and does change, each time you remember it. It never was fully objective to begin with, and becomes less so as time goes on.

Your memory is not an unalterable police car dash cam recording. It is a dynamic tool with which your past guides your future.

You cannot change the objective reality of what happened to you, or by you, or around you. Yet you can choose precisely how you remember it, what it now means, what you learn from it, what you do with it.

The story of your life is yours to write, now, to make sense of, to pull together into an inspiring, empowering narrative. Whatever your past has been, you can project it through the lens of now into a positive, fulfilling future.

Today is the turning point in the story of your life. Today, let everything you remember push you toward the brightest, most meaningful life you can imagine.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 18

Step up

You’re at the bottom of a deep hole, in a foreign country, where you don’t speak the language. A man comes along and starts shoveling dirt into the hole.

You yell up to him, asking what he’s doing, but he doesn’t understand you and you don’t understand him. He just keeps on shoveling.

So what do you do? You step up.

As each fresh mound of dirt lands at the bottom of the hole, you step up on top of it. Dirt is continually shoveled in, the bottom of the hole rises, and by stepping up you rise along with it, until finally you’re able to step out of the hole.

It doesn’t really matter whether that dirt was intended to bury you or to save you. What matters is your response, your choice to step up, to take action and successfully deal with the situation at hand.

What situation in your life is throwing dirt on you at the moment? Step up, take whatever’s coming at you, and put it to positive use.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 19

Possibility into reality

Can you write one sentence, and another, and another? Then you can write a book.

Can you take one step, and a step after that, and another step? Then you can travel a thousand miles.

What you can do right now may not seem like much. Yet once you do it, you can do it again, and again, and soon you’re making significant progress.

What you can accomplish today may not be perfect. Yet tomorrow you’ll have the opportunity to improve upon it and add to it.

Don’t let yourself discount, disparage, or talk yourself out of what you can do right now. Just go ahead and get it done.

Every time you have the chance, make the effort, do what you can do. Let your own actions show you, again and again, how to make possibility into reality.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 20

Better input

Every action has a consequence. By choosing your actions, you can choose your consequences.

Often you don’t know exactly what the consequence of a specific action will be. Most of the time, though, you have a pretty good idea.

Sometimes random, outside events beyond your control will come along to lift you up or push you down. For the most part, however, the life you live is a function of the actions you take.

If your life is going so great you can’t imagine how it could be any better, then keep doing what you’ve been doing, and enjoy. When the consequences you’ve created could stand some improvement, you’re in luck, because there’s a sure way to change them.

Don’t waste your time trying to get new consequences from the same old actions. When you’re motivated to get a better result, let that motivation push you to create a better input.

Live with respect for the powerful connection between action and consequence. Give yourself the life you desire by consistently taking the actions that are sure to bring it about.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 21

Celebrate the goodness

Though your life is not perfect, in a whole lot of ways you have it very good. Celebrate that goodness, nurture it, build upon it, and keep it going.

You can recognize problems and take action to solve them. You can spot opportunities and focus your efforts, your skills, your innovation and resources on transforming those opportunities into achievements.

You can live each day and make every choice according to a strong, deeply entrenched set of positive, time-tested values. You can live with a generous spirit and sincerely enjoy adding richness to the lives of those around you.

You can get out in front of things that are changing, and make sure those changes play out for the better. You can give your time, your thoughtfulness, your curiosity, love, and creativity to make life better in all sorts of different situations.

You can fill the hours with honest, caring work and be genuinely satisfied at the end of the day by the positive difference you have made. You can offer kindness where there is too little of it and give understanding to those who desperately seek it.

In every moment, in every direction, are ample opportunities to live with meaning and fulfillment. Remind yourself how good you have it, and live up to the great potential that is your life.

— 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

Follow through

Follow through on your possibilities. Follow through on your dreams, no matter how old they are, or how long they’ve been dormant.

You had the idea, you had the inspiration, and you have the potential to make it happen. Now, follow through.

Something caused you to put it off. Now, pick it back up.

The desire has grown stronger, and your ability has grown even more. Take out your dream, dust it off, and do it.

Fulfill the potential you know you have, and make good on the promise you made to yourself. You had a good reason to make that promise, and now you have an even better reason to see it through.

Life may have gotten in the way, yet now is a new opportunity. Get it done, follow through, and make it happen.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 24

At peace with now

With peace, with gratitude, with patience, let this moment be the way it is. Live the richness, the beauty, the possibilities of now.

You have always been, and you always are, more than enough. There is real goodness in your life, in your world, and more to come.

Treasure this place, this time, this feeling, this experience. Recognize the opportunity to give more of yourself to all you love.

Allow everything that happens to remind you of what’s truly important. Feel the strength of your purpose, thankful for the opportunity to act with that strength.

You don’t have to let the stressful influences make you stressful inside. You can choose your feelings, so choose joy, choose laughter, choose love.

Be at peace with now. And live according to the terms of your own highest hopes and values.

— Ralph Marston

[willbe275]

Happy holidays to all, from the Franklin family in good old Brooklyn New York.

[bluidkiti]

December 25

Make a miracle

Make life a little less lonely for someone today. Give the people who are with you in this place, in this moment, a fresh experience of kindness.

Breathe in the beauty, the wonder, of all that exists. Fill your heart with enthusiasm for the goodness that is now possible.

You have traveled a long and difficult way to arrive at this remarkable day. Take the opportunity to offer your love more fully and sincerely than ever before.

Consider that you are here to make a miracle, in your own unique way. You have the desire, the experience, the generosity to improve the lives around you.

Open yourself to the possibilities for doing so, and you’ll see them in abundance. Set your intention, and treasure your ability, to make a difference.

Look for those spots where the world has grown dim, and see if you can add some brightness. Let your love make a miracle, and nudge life a little higher.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 26

Say what you want

To get what you want, from yourself or others, you have to say what you want. You must be clear and specific.

Do you resent others because they don’t treat you the way you wish to be treated? There’s a good chance they don’t completely understand how you prefer to be treated.

That understanding requires more than just assumptions, complaints, and insinuations. Be clear, detailed, unambiguous about what you want, and most people are quite willing to oblige.

Do you have trouble getting yourself to take the actions that will achieve the goals you desire? Then articulate those goals in a more compelling and specific way.

When you’re clear and certain about what you intend to achieve, you will find a way to get it done. Instead of wishing for a vague idea of something nice, you’re able to work toward something specific.

Ask specifically, and you will receive specifically, whether from yourself or someone else. Say what you want, and you’re much more likely to get it.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 27

Active role

Are the same old habits and routines imprisoning you in mediocrity and leaving you uninspired? You can change that, but it’s up to you, and it requires effort on your part.

There is no magic bullet that will make you enthusiastic. Yet there are plenty of actions you can take to ignite your enthusiasm.

Don’t wait for circumstances or other people to get you up and get you going. Take the initiative, now, and breathe some fresh energy into your life.

The world will look a whole lot better when you look at it from a purposeful, active viewpoint. What seemed to be problems and obstacles transform into challenging, exhilarating opportunities.

Rather than waiting for time to pass, get out in front of it, make it unfold in a positive, fulfilling way. Minimize the influence of random, undesired events by intentionally creating your experiences.

Do the work, put in the time and commitment to play a highly active role in your life, in your world. You’ll have no shortage of energy and enthusiasm.

— Ralph Marston

[willbe275]

Happy 3nd day of Christmas.

[bluidkiti]

December 28

Own the adversity

If you let it, adversity will illuminate a powerful part of you. It’s the part of you that can transcend your current limitations.

Feel the frustration, feel the fear, feel the discomfort, the remorse. And then feel the strength, the will, the inspiration and commitment to do something about it all.

Look honestly at what has gone wrong, and make the choice not to stand for it anymore. Make the choice to do whatever is necessary, day after day, step after step, to improve life in a specific way.

Grab the mistake, the difficulty, the hardship, and turn it on its head. Take whatever has held you back and transform it into a forceful form of fuel to move you forward.

Resolve to make each setback something you can eventually be thankful for. Then act with persistence until you are there.

Own the adversity, and own the positive power it sparks within you. Focus that power on making life better.

— 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

[bluidkiti]

December 30

New possibilities up ahead

Everything you’ve ever achieved was done with less knowledge and less experience than you possess today. Now that you’ve learned more and done more, just imagine what great things you can do next.

You’ve worked your way through all kinds of challenges. From each one, you’ve emerged with new strength.

Going forward, you’re able to put that strength to good use. Live and work with all the confidence you’ve already earned, and as you do, you’ll build even more.

You’ve taken many steps to get where you are, ready today to step into your future. Every past moment has prepared you to live that future with the best you have.

The joys, disappointments, discoveries, setbacks, challenges and victories all still live inside you. Let them push you, inspire you, inform you, enlighten you as you encounter the new possibilities up ahead.

Your future is ready to begin, and there is much you have to offer it. Make good and meaningful use of it all, and make it the best time ever.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

December 31

Inspired by the past

The past is over, yet you can still benefit from it. You can draw great inspiration from all you’ve been through.

From what you’ve done well, from what you’ve done poorly, be inspired. From what went wrong, from what went right, be inspired.

You can’t remember all the details of all your experiences, and you can’t go back and live them again. What you can do, is let all those past experiences push you to take positive action now.

Today, you can choose what to carry forward from the previous days, years, and eras of your life. Choose those memories, those feelings, that will push you into a positive, highly fulfilling future.

Whether you were applauded or whether you were criticized, now you can become motivated and energized. Whether you wasted much of the past year or were highly productive, now you can be inspired to do your best work ever.

Look back with gratitude, and feel the vast accumulation of energy that has brought you here. Now, focus all that energy forward and fulfill your highest possibilities.

— Ralph Marston