Daily Motivator - October

[bluidkiti]

October 1

Let resistance fall away

Much of what makes anything difficult is your resistance to it. That’s a difficulty you can quickly eliminate whenever you choose.

There’s nothing inherently difficult about getting up at five in the morning to work out. Once you drop the resistance to it, once you’re fully committed, it becomes a pleasure rather than a difficulty.

The resistance is real, powerful. Yet you have control over it.

If you know you must, if you know it’s best, then drop your resistance and get it done. When you are fearful, frustrated, annoyed, apathetic, those are things you can change.

Rather than permitting your resistance to make excuses, engage your chosen, focused efforts to make progress. Give your intentions precedence over your resistance.

Choose not to fight against your own possibilities, capabilities, and ambitions. Let your resistance fall away, and let your own dynamic life take its place.

— Ralph Marston

[willbe275]

That was a awesome read to start the new month with.

[bluidkiti]

October 2

Improving your outcome

When your efforts are not producing desired results, that’s not a reason to stop. It’s a reason to adjust, and to keep going.

Quitting doesn’t improve your outcome. Perseverance is what will create the outcome you desire.

When you’re disappointed with the way things have unfolded, that’s no reason to run away and hide. It’s a reason to get more involved in making the future brighter than the past.

Don’t become immobilized by regrettable results. Instead, make good use of what you learn from them and the way you feel about them.

Based on the new experience you’ve gained, re-orient your efforts to be more effective. Tap into the energy of your disappointment and point it in a positive direction.

See the undesirable outcome for what it is, the first step toward your desired outcome. Then move forward and do the rest of the work to take you exactly where you want to be.

— Ralph Marston

[willbe275]

Happy October!
New month new opportunities! Be grateful for all that you have and committed to keep working and growing! Remember... change is uncomfortable... however, worth it! Have a phenomenal start to this new month!

[bluidkiti]

October 3

Limits

If you had all the time in the world, you wouldn’t ever get anything done. Because you could always, always, do it later.

If you had all the money in the world, whatever you bought would mean nothing to you. Because you could always buy more.

The reason you’re able to value your time is because it is limited. The reason money has value is because there is not an unlimited supply of it.

Limits can feel oppressive and burdensome. Yet those same limits are what make things precious and valuable.

Limits provide a structure within which you can work to flourish. It is by making your way through a world with limits that you create and experience fulfillment.

See life’s limits for the opportunities they are. Seize those opportunities with joy, with enthusiasm, and make them into real life value.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 4

All along the way

You don’t really win by causing others to lose. You win by doing something of value.

Your ability to truly win is independent of what other people do. Winning exists in the process more than the result.

Yes, you want the result to be positive and valuable. That’s how you determine the nature and extent of your effort.

Yet the winning does not come only in the reward. The winning comes also in everything you do to reach the reward.

You are living life in every moment, and you wouldn’t want the reward to only be at the end. For the reward to be maximized, it must be present throughout the whole process.

Choose the priorities and actions that enable you to win not just at the end of the undertaking, but all along the way. Every day, every moment, take the opportunity to truly win.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 5

Allow joy to live

Sometimes, missing out on what you enjoy gives you the opportunity to discover something else you’ll enjoy more. Rather than being resentful about the way life unfolds, be enthusiastic about the unfolding possibilities.

When you so choose, you can make every moment a new adventure. Dare to go beyond what’s comfortable and familiar, and uncover new pathways to express your purpose.

You’ve learned that you love and enjoy many people, places, activities. Give yourself the chance to learn how much more you can love.

This day, this place, this situation might be much more fulfilling than you’re allowing it to be. Instead of wishing for the enjoyment of doing something else, create a new kind of joy out of right now.

Let the moment be. Let yourself live the goodness of it.

Don’t make your joy dependent on some narrow, specific configuration of reality. Allow joy to live and thrive, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 6

New starting point

If you’re not careful, complacency can make everything you’ve gained crumble to the ground. Don’t let your success be victim of that same success.

Avoid complacency by responding to each success with gratitude, humility, and continuing effort. Treat success as an opportunity to create even more success.

If all you do with your good fortune is consume it, you’ll soon be left with nothing but regret. Instead, seize the opportunity to build upon your success.

The joy of accomplishment is in the doing. The way to continue that joy is to continue the doing.

Realize that the biggest reward of any success is the opportunity to aim for even more success. Feel the extent of that opportunity, and go to work on it.

Make every success into a new starting point. Delight in continuing to fill your world with new achievement and value.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 7

Pay attention to your wishes

Do you wish to have all your work for the day finished? Then devote your time to doing it, now and until it is done.

Your wishes will show you what to do, but they won’t do it. That’s your job, your responsibility, your privilege.

Do you wish you had done things differently in the past? That’s a wish you can’t fulfill, yet it’s one you can use to improve your life as you move forward.

Although you can no longer prevent the mistakes of your past, you can stop yourself from repeating them. That will make a real and positive difference in your life.

On their own, your wishes won’t make anything happen. However, informed and inspired by those wishes, you can make a lot of great things happen.

Pay attention to your wishes, and then get to work. Today, and every day, you have the opportunity to make your best wishes come true.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 8

Love the moment

Love the moment. Love the day.

Love the circumstance and those you share it with. Love the challenges and the opportunity they provide to make a difference.

Love the way daylight fades into dusk. Love each new season and the change it brings.

Love the mystery that will always remain beyond your ability to know. Love the time-tested values that provide a foundation for lasting richness.

Love what you remember and all you can look forward to. Love the joy, the effort, the tears, the laughter, the tumult, the stillness.

Love life, in its grand expanse and its minuscule details. Love that you can give your best, always, to all you love.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 9

Surprises

You can influence the future but you cannot control it. Keep that distinction in mind.

If everything were to happen according to plan, life would be terribly monotonous. Much of what you treasure in life, you didn’t know about in advance.

People, activities, knowledge, concepts will surprise you, and that’s a good thing. Life is open-ended, no matter how diligently you prepare for it.

Accept that open-endedness. Be okay with not knowing, with being surprised every now and then.

True, some of the surprises won’t be pleasant. Yet all of them give you the chance to add some new aspect to the richness of life.

Do your best to create a good future, but don’t reject life if it’s not precisely the way you imagined it. Welcome the surprises, and take each one as an opportunity to feel more fully alive.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 10

Renewed determination

Are you disappointed that you haven’t gotten more done by now? Feel the disappointment, and then transform it into inspiration.

You can’t travel backwards in time, so there’s no use wishing you could change what’s already happened. What you can do now is travel forward with renewed determination.

Remind yourself that it’s never too late to make a positive difference. Each dawning day delivers new opportunities to act, to achieve, to set things right, to move forward.

If you know you could have done more, now is your time to do it. Allow fresh, new energy to well up within you, and put that energy to immediate use.

Some time has already passed, yet more time is now becoming available. Make the choice to use that time wisely, productively, purposefully.

Let your past disappointment push you to act and to persist so that you won’t be disappointed again. You can get it done, and now is when.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 11

Purposeful activities

Your success is not determined by how busy you are. It is determined by how well your accomplishments satisfy your purpose.

Living a meaningful life is not necessarily about racking up a profusion of impressive feats. Having much to boast about is not the same as having much to live for.

Yes, be ambitious. And make sure it means something, to you, to your world, your values, your purpose.

What good things would you do even if no one would ever know you had done them? What places would you visit just for the experience, not for the selfie photos or bragging rights?

Do those things, go to those places. When deciding what to do, make sure it means something.

Merely being busy for the sake of being busy rewards you with anxiety and not much else. It’s being purposeful in the activities you choose, that brings you true fulfillment.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 12

Rein in your brain

Rein in your brain. Think about what you do before you do it, but don’t overthink.

Think it through, then quickly act on what you think. Keep your thoughts going, but don’t let them stop you from making progress.

Are there things you’ve thought of doing, things you’ve wanted to do, that you’re not doing? Stop thinking about them so much and start acting on them.

Honor and value your thoughts by committing them to action. Go ahead, take the first step, and then keep going.

Your thoughts are powerful, and it’s easy to let them become a substitute for action. It’s much better, though, to let your thoughts push you into action.

Doing what you intend to do is not really that difficult. Just stop thinking so much about it, and start acting on it.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 13

Play in active role

When you come upon an opportunity, take it. When you discover a problem, solve it.

Play an active role in life each day. Get up, get out there, get busy, and get things done.

Make use of your energy and you’ll have much more of it. Put forth a little enthusiasm, and you will quickly feel that enthusiasm began to grow.

Join in without waiting to be invited or persuaded. Offer your action, your advice, your understanding, your kindness.

Keep yourself interested, informed, involved, and positive about making a difference. Always there is something good and worthwhile that you can do.

Life moves fast and is filled with richness. Move along with it, and add your own unique efforts and expressions to the richness.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 14

Let yourself do your best

Don’t let the strength of your intention get in the way of fulfilling that intention. Don’t let your obsession with a specific result diminish the quality of that result.

Let go, and let yourself do your best. Lose yourself in the process, and allow your anxiety to melt away.

Focus, but don’t obsess. Put forth effort, but don’t needlessly escalate it into a struggle.

Know what you are aiming to achieve while keeping your awareness on the step you’re currently taking. Invest yourself in a positive outcome but don’t base your whole identity on that outcome.

Put your energy into making your efforts effective, not into worrying about where your efforts will lead. Build the next level, write the next sentence, make the next call, visualize the next step and take it.

Seek to make it about what you’re doing, not about you, not about what you’ll get. And you’ll enable yourself to consistently work with excellence.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 15

Envision goodness

There have always been serious problems in the world. Even so, a whole lot of people have made a whole lot of amazing progress.

Today, difficult, frustrating challenges exist in your world, your town, your life. And right along with those challenges are plenty of valuable opportunities.

You can live a positive, meaningful life in a world that’s too often negative. Because you have the power to envision goodness and then bring that goodness to life.

The status quo may be oppressive and overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to remain the status quo. You can see a better way, you can resolutely go in that direction, and invite others to come along.

Decide you’ll find a way to turn the problems around so they add to your progress rather than detract from it. Commit yourself to a positive perspective that guides you in making constant changes for the better.

See the difficulties clearly, acknowledge the challenges fully. Then envision goodness, and do the work to make that goodness happen.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 16

Remarkable day

Life delivers another remarkable day, and you greet it with purpose, with passion, with ability. Morning light excites your soul, challenging you to transform its golden promise into lasting value.

Gaze in gratitude and amazement at all you have the good fortune to behold. And as the light brightens, as the possibilities pop more sharply into focus, you’re already at work.

The day progresses, bringing noise, confusion, turmoil, drama, all the usual disruptions, and a few unexpected ones. Yet through it all you keep going, focused, purposeful, thankful, and effective.

You’re living the experience that’s the finest experience anyone can possibly know. You’re making a difference, enabling life to be the best it can be.

You’re living true to your highest possibilities. You’re advancing steadfastly through life and leaving good things in your wake.

Whatever the next hour, or week, or year may bring, you’re sure to make the most of it. Because every remarkable day you choose to live fully, and to live very well.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 17

Enjoy being you

You deserve to enjoy being you. You deserve to love all that you love.

Give yourself the gift of real joy, not just every now and then, but often. Allow yourself to deeply experience the wonder, the delight, the warmth, the passion, of being you.

No person is like every other person, even when every person pretends to be. Extract yourself from that silly game, admit and celebrate that you are you, and share your unique goodness with others.

When it comes to being you, you’re the most successful that anyone will ever be. Take full advantage of that ability, of that success, to the benefit of yourself and all those around you.

Though you can find power and positive purpose in joining with others, you’ll always be uniquely you. Offer your special strength and perspective to the whole group, without letting the group dilute who you are.

The best version of you is the most authentic version of you. Enjoy being you, and enjoy all the advantages that arise from your unique value.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 18

Put it into practice

The way to convince people of what you believe is not to argue with them. If there’s something you believe, something you feel strongly about, put it into practice.

Don’t expect anyone else to believe something just because you do. Quietly, humbly, respectfully, put it into practice.

If you find yourself expressing beliefs mostly in terms of what others should say, or feel, or do, take a step back. Return your focus to what you can do, to how you can live those beliefs.

Let go of the need to find others who will acknowledge, validate, or promote your beliefs. Let go of the desire to experience outrage at those who disagree with you.

Instead, devote your energy to being a positive, living example of what you believe. Spend your time offering life real benefits from the way you live your beliefs.

Arguing, moralizing, shaming and criticizing, all do disservice to the good things you believe. Choose instead to put what you believe into practice, advancing it with your strength and commitment.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 19

Grab the moment

This is it, now is when. Time to do what you’ve been meaning to do, what you’ve been saying you were going to do.

This is the moment you have. Now is the time to work on your dreams, goals, ambitions.

Today is the day to make a difference. Right here is the place to get your work done.

There is no past anymore, and there is no future yet. Only now is when opportunity exists.

Today is your chance to solve problems. Now is your moment to make progress.

It’s not too late, it’s not too soon, it’s not perfect but it’s plenty good enough. Now is here, and you are too, so grab the moment and do something with it.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 20

Know exactly why

How do you motivate yourself to take action? By being clear about the benefits of doing so.

How do you push yourself to get up, get going, and get the work done? By being brutally clear about the negative consequences of not getting it done.

If you don’t see the point, you’ll grab any excuse not to make the effort. When you understand in detail why you must act, you will act.

In any undertaking, there will be plenty of challenges. Don’t add to the challenges with your own apathy or reluctance.

Look beyond the effort and picture what it will achieve. Envision the satisfaction of doing purposeful work, of making a positive difference.

Immunize yourself from all the excuses. Know exactly why you’re doing it, precisely what it will bring, and you’ll be eager to do whatever must be done.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 21

Use what you have

If you have a whole lot, use what you have. If you have very little, use what you have.

When you have plenty of time, make full use of it. When you have very little time, make full use of it.

Whether you have a little or a lot, or somewhere in between, use what you have. Whether it’s top-notch or bottom-tier, make good use of what you have.

Wishing for a different starting point won’t carry you forward. Instead, go with what you’ve got and work to make it into what you want.

Rather than getting caught up in what you have or don’t have, or the quality or quantity, zero in on what you can do. Whatever the situation, use it to follow your purpose, to express your values, to support and expand what you love.

Center your awareness and your energy around the main issue, which is always this. What good, useful, meaningful things will you do with what you have?

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 22

One little positive thing

Even the smallest achievement inspires and encourages you to achieve again. Do one little positive thing, and you’ll find yourself filled with the energy and desire to do much more.

Take the steps necessary to experience some initial success. That creates fresh new motivation to build your small success into whatever achievement you desire.

Don’t overwhelm yourself with worry about all the tasks you’ll eventually have to complete. Instead, let yourself be encouraged and inspired by the one little positive thing you can do right now.

You can touch success and achievement in this moment, in this place. Do one little positive thing, and experience the reality of the success you seek.

Transcend speculation, fear, doubt, hesitation, and the inclination to make excuses. Take action, and see for yourself the positive result of that action.

Then jump on the momentum you’ve just created. Start with one little positive thing, and you can go anywhere.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 23

Pointing the way

To improve what you do, you must first improve what you want to do. You cannot expect to achieve new, improved results with the same old priorities and desires.

Every success first happens in your own heart, with your own desires. Every achievement is a product of personal commitment.

Your thoughts and actions enable you to make progress in one direction or another. Yet it is your heart that tells you which specific direction to go.

Where you are now is connected to where you previously wanted to be. Where do you want to be next, who do you want to be, how do you truly want to live?

You’re talented and experienced at achieving your desires. Be sure to choose those desires with care.

Every moment brings you closer to the reality of your future. And every moment, your desires are pointing the way.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 24

Missing out

It’s actually pretty ridiculous to fear that you’re missing out on something. Because every day, day after day, you’re missing out on more than ninety-nine percent of everything that’s going on.

Since long before you were born, and continuing up to this moment, you’ve been missing out. Even so, with all you’ve missed, you’ve managed to have quite a few amazing and fulfilling experiences.

Imagine that you were somehow able to experience everything, to have everything, all the time. Think of how intensely sad and empty that would be.

If you could do everything, nothing would have any special meaning. It is precisely because you cannot participate in everything, that enables those things you can do, to have value.

Instead of worrying about what you’re missing, throw yourself into fully living all you have, right here, right now. Make whatever you’re doing so valuable, so meaningful, that you’re happy to forgo all the other possibilities to get it done.

You can only do so much. Understand and celebrate what a great thing that is.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 25

Where life leads

Life has a good number of hidden treasures for you today, and every day. Will you take the opportunity to discover them, or will you heedlessly pass them by?

People have plenty of interesting and useful things to say to you. Will you really listen, and learn, or just assume you already know what they’re going to tell you?

Sure, you’??re clear about what you want. But maybe there are other options, better possibilities, that you don’t even know about yet.

Life’s best treasures are not always where you think they will be. You have to be open to finding them where you don’t expect to find them.

Sometimes a wrong turn can end up taking you to the best route forward. Sometimes a crushing disappointment can set you on the path to an amazing triumph.

Have the humility, the curiosity, the faith, wonder, and sense of adventure to follow where life leads. Open yourself to discover and experience richness you didn’t even know was there.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 26

Clear reasoning

Just because something is new, doesn’t make it better. Just because something has a higher price, doesn’t mean it is more desirable.

Just because you disagree with someone on one issue, doesn’t make that person wrong about everything. Just because everyone agrees, doesn’t make something true, or right.

It’s easy to oversimplify, to make sweeping generalizations, to base your actions solely on assumptions. It’s better, though, to employ reason, mental effort, experience, and discipline.

Before you jump to a conclusion you might regret, pause, calm down, gather your thoughts. Take a few steps back from the issue, put it in perspective, look at the bigger picture.

Take a good, dispassionate look at the objective facts. Evaluate the content of what’s being said apart from your opinions about the person saying it.

Make clear reasoning your goal, not demonstrating how quick or clever or pompous you can be. Let truth and usefulness be your most desired conclusions.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 27

Going to be great

What’s about to happen is going to be great. As each moment of life unfolds, tell yourself that, again and again.

You can expect whatever you choose to expect. So choose an expectation that will raise you to your most effective state.

Before every encounter, before each task, each experience, repeat the affirmation to yourself. This is going to be great.

Your positive expectation will not magically cause events to line up in your favor. What it will do is improve your confidence, increase your energy, and direct your focus to the best possibilities.

Expect great things and you’ll see opportunities for making great things happen. Get in the habit of making the best out of whatever comes your way.

Keep telling yourself that this is going to be great. And give yourself a powerful, positive advantage in meeting every situation.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 28

The magic

See the magic. Be the magic.

On Wednesday evening, as the last of daylight fades from the sky, life is magical. Saturday morning, as a child runs through the playground to his favorite slide, life is magical.

Live the magic. Give the magic.

In the physical forces holding matter together, pulses the magic that is existence. In feelings and longings impossible to explain, the magic of life streams ever forward.

A simple, ordinary moment can feel as wondrous as anything has ever been. Because it is.

The magic is in you, comes through you, gaining new substance and meaning in all you do with it. Feel the magic in every moment, and live true to its highest promise.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 29

The time coming your way

The time in this day, month, year will pass quickly. Be prepared to make full use of it by knowing clearly what you want to do with it before it arrives.

Time is a limited resource for everyone, no matter how many other resources they have. Yet when you make intentional use of time, there are no limits to what you can do with it.

What do you regret not doing because you didn’t have enough time? Let the sting of that regret motivate you to make better use of all the time that’s now coming your way.

Don’t merely wish that you had started sooner. Transform that wish into determination, into action going forward, into achievement.

You won’t get a do-over of time already spent, yet you get something even better. You get fresh, new time, starting right now, along with the wisdom to invest it well.

Be clear on what you intend to do with the time that’s coming your way. Respect the value of the time you have, and that time will serve you well.

— Ralph Marston

[willbe275]

Always give time time, enjoy every moment of every day, one day at a time.
Don't forget to use your time wisely.

[bluidkiti]

October 30

Place of power

Are you inside the problem, or are you outside it? The answer can be, both.

Physically, financially, socially, you’re inside the problem. Mentally, spiritually, you can situate yourself outside of it.

You can put yourself in a more objective, creative, effective position. You can visualize your way to a perspective that empowers you to successfully handle the problem.

You can think and feel what you choose, without limits, simply by choosing. You never have to be stuck or stymied by any situation.

Put yourself in a place of power. Put yourself in a place where you can transform problems into opportunities, disappointments into determination.

Using the power of your mind and spirit, make your perspective bigger and higher than any problem you encounter. With that perspective, you can find and follow a positive way forward.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 31

Small improvements

Imagine lifting a five pound weight today, and tomorrow adding just one percent to the weight, and lifting it again. Continue adding just one percent each day, and at the end of one year you would be lifting 185 pounds.

The effort necessary to achieve a one percent improvement is barely noticeable. Yet those small improvements, continued and compounded, quickly add up.

What could you do today to make your life tomorrow just a little bit better? What could you do each day to continue that incremental improvement?

Challenge yourself to invest a spare moment, a spare effort, a spare dollar, to benefit your future. Seek a small improvement, and then a small improvement on the improvement.

You may not have access to vast resources, yet you absolutely have access to this powerful strategy. When you’re always improving, those improvements are sure to lead somewhere great.

You have the opportunity right now to do one thing just a little better than you did it before. Take that opportunity, and over time you’ll create massive new value in your world.

— Ralph Marston