Daily Motivator - July

[bluidkiti]

July 1

Connect to love

Life can often leave you weary, disheartened, resentful and frustrated. When you feel that way, remind yourself that there is a better way.

Connect to all you love. Nourish, support, expand all you love.

Seek out the people, the values, the experiences, the places, the feelings, ideas, and challenges that you love. Turn your focus toward those things that energize and inspire you.

It’s easy to feel sorry for yourself when an uncaring world has beaten you down. It’s much better, though, to turn toward the aspects of life that you love.

There are exceptionally good reasons why you get up and go through each day. Keep yourself firmly connected to those reasons.

Connect to love, in whatever way you choose to feel it. You are made to love, you deserve to love, so let love be, again and again, no matter what.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 2

Make your best even better

It doesn’t matter how well or how poorly you are received. What matters is that you give your best.

Your ego may not like it when you are criticized, or worse, when no one even notices you. Yet there is a part of you that can find great value in every kind of feedback.

Rather than being upset or giddy about any response you get, raise your focus to a higher level. Be curious.

The surest way to learn is to do. That’s especially true when it comes to learning how others will respond to you.

Life at its highest level is about giving of your most authentic, original self. And that’s an exercise where continual practice leads to rapid improvement.

Give your best, and see what happens. Based on that, you’ll figure out how to continue making your best even better.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 3

Too much of anything

If something works well, use it, expand on it, apply it in other situations and disciplines. But don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s the answer to everything.

Too much of anything, is not a good thing. Unthinking adherence to what has proven successful, will not necessarily be successful.

A highly effective strategy for getting things done, may not work well when figuring out what to do. Techniques for creating beautiful art may have limited application when designing a production facility.

It’s easy to categorize various ideas as either good or bad. But such a simplistic approach doesn’t align with the complexities of real life.

Some ideas, some approaches, some processes are good for certain situations. Other tactics are more appropriate for other situations.

Success is a great thing to emulate and replicate. Just be careful not to blindly push it so far that it turns into failure.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 4

Goodness in your wake

Everything you do is significant. Every thought you think has consequences.

Whether or not you have the intention to make a difference, you are making a difference. Whether or not you’re aware of your impact, you have an impact.

You can’t possibly manage every result that comes out of the way you live your life. Yet you can manage your attitude, your perspective, what you respect, what you value.

Do what you do, think what you think, with a commitment to truth, authenticity, and goodness. Keep your awareness in a positive, kindhearted place and leave each situation better than you found it.

The energy you broadcast to life affects your life and the world in which you live. For the sake of others, for your own sake, let it come from a good and sincere place.

Carry with you a persistent commitment to the best of life for everyone who lives it. In ways large and small, leave goodness in your wake.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 5

The moment is new

Events didn’t work out the way you planned. What if that turns out to be a good thing?

You didn’t get what you wanted. Perhaps that is making room in your world for something even better.

There are a whole lot of great things in life that you don’t even know about yet. Just because one or two matters didn’t work out to your satisfaction, isn’t the end of the world.

Consign your disappointment to yesterday. Today, and tomorrow, and every day from now on, you have the chance to move far beyond it.

Life is filled with beautiful people, places, experiences, and countless other treasures. Don’t deny all that richness to yourself for any reason.

Get up, go forward, get out and live, learn, love, discover, and live some more. The moment is new and your life is ready for the best you can put into it.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 6

Higher level

One disappointment does not mean your life is forever ruined. One thoughtless remark pointed in your direction doesn’t mean you are under attack.

Things go wrong and people make mistakes. Get used to it, get over it, and be kind to yourself by getting on with your life.

If you can, correct what has gone wrong and work to make sure it doesn’t happen again. But don’t let a momentary injury or affront disrupt your life for the next five hours, five months, or five years.

Amplify and expand upon your possibilities, not your grievances. Let your life be driven not by what might have gone wrong, but by your own best intentions.

You have the power to choose the direction of your focus. You have the ability to find the good in each moment, in every occurrence, and move forward with it.

See the opportunities for gratitude, forgiveness, determination, and positive action. Experience the depth of your strength while using that strength to lift your life to a higher level.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 7

Get the job done

What if doing what’s hard is really not so hard? What if the main thing making it so difficult is your own resistance?

Imagine for a moment that you could just take the first step. And imagine your pleasant surprise at getting that first thing done.

Then picture yourself with some positive momentum. Think of the joy and sense of accomplishment you can be experiencing.

Suddenly you realize that all your excuses are just that, excuses. And you understand that you’re well-positioned to take action, to be effective, to get good things done.

And so that’s precisely what you do. Letting go of any judgment about what’s difficult and what’s not, you go ahead and get the job done.

You’ll wonder why you ever hesitated in the first place. And you’ll jump with great enthusiasm into whatever is next.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 8

What you do with now

Is your use of time right now advancing your life in the direction you want it to go? Or is there something more purposeful, more fulfilling that you could be doing?

Once this day is over, you’ve forever lost its unique possibilities. Keep that in mind, and make sure you’re choosing the highest possibilities in every moment.

The march of time is relentless, and you can be just as relentless. Align your priorities so that time is working for you rather than against you.

Lift your awareness above the meaningless distractions. Constantly feel the gentle, yet powerful energy of knowing that you’re making a positive difference.

A week from today, you can look back and clearly see the progress you’ve made. Use this moment, this situation, this activity to ensure you’ll be looking back with the highest satisfaction.

Life happens now, and what you do with now has a very real impact on the life you experience from this day on. Do all you can to make that impact the most beneficial it can be.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 9

Go it one better

Don’t make the challenge even more challenging by avoiding it. Do strengthen your ability to deal with the challenge by stepping up and dealing with the challenge.

Are you having trouble getting motivated to do that? Then add to the challenge with a challenge of your own, one that’s meaningful enough to push you into action.

You have the skills to successfully navigate through the challenges you encounter. You just have to give yourself a good enough reason to do so.

Life is largely about making a difference. Life’s challenges provide you with excellent opportunities to do that.

Challenges enable you to see firsthand exactly how much you’re capable of achieving. And every time you work your way through a challenge, your confidence grows stronger.

Life will challenge you, so go it one better and let each challenge activate the power of your purpose. Discover strength, build strength, exercise strength, and transform each challenge into achievement.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 10

Treasure of human experience

Criticism of others will not gain you their willing cooperation. Genuine respect will.

Forcing your viewpoint on someone else will not result in that person agreeing with you. Seek instead to listen, to understand, to act with care and kindness, to earn and to deserve that person’s understanding.

Every individual you encounter has a unique perspective that’s different than your own. At the same time, every person also has many things in common with you.

Effective, enduring connection happens when you do the work to reach from where you are to where the other person is. That work consists of honesty, humility, respect and precision in your words, and generosity in your spirit.

Every day, people from vastly different backgrounds, with widely varying perspectives, forge positive, fruitful connections with each other. That’s because despite their differences, they care enough, and are diligent enough, to find common ground and to build upon it.

Every person is unique, and that can be a powerfully good thing. Make the effort to connect with that goodness, to understand, to cooperate, and help the world benefit from the astounding treasure of human experience.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 11

Learn all you can

Learn from people and projects that succeed. Learn from things that fail.

Learn from those who share your opinion. Learn from those who disagree with you.

Learn from the various activities you engage in, and from the different ways you feel afterwards. Learn from whatever causes disappointment, and from all that gives you joy.

When you don’t understand, have the courage to ask. When you do understand, have the humility to know there’s much more to learn.

Learn from the wisdom and experience of those who came before you. Learn from the playful dreams of those who are just beginning life’s journey.

Learn, learn, learn all you can. And do your very best with all you know.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 12

Difficult things happen

Every problem is a chance for you to become a better version of yourself. Every challenge charts a path for growth and improvement.

Every setback carries the potential for powerful motivation. Every disappointment can lift you to a higher level of resolve.

Every inconvenience has the power to inspire new resourcefulness. Every frustration gives you a way to strengthen your patience.

From each positive experience, you learn a few things. From each negative experience, you learn much more.

Of course you would not intentionally seek to be hurt or disappointed. But neither would you want a life where hurt and disappointment never happen.

Difficult things can happen, do happen, and amazingly, life finds a way to make them beneficial. Difficult things can happen, and that’s what makes the good things so very good.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 13

Define the goal

Don’t assume just by identifying the problem that the solution is obvious. Do the work to develop and articulate that solution.

It’s important and helpful to point out what is wrong. Yet to give real value to your observation, you must clearly define what will make the situation right.

If you can’t do that, dig deeper or move on. There’s no point in continuing to dwell on any problem if you’re unable to envision what specifically must be done about it.

To work toward any goal you must first make sure it is clearly defined. If other people are to join with you in the effort, they must also know precisely what you intend to accomplish.

A vague list of complaints is not enough to get things moving forward. What matters is what you intend to do about it.

Challenge yourself to define the goal in ways that can be effectively communicated and enthusiastically embraced. Then you’re well on your way to making the problem a thing of the past.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 14

Failure and persistence

Don’t let any failure make you into a failure. Use it as another step to success.

You attempted something and it didn’t work. Rather than holding you back from another attempt, let that experience prepare you for your next attempt.

You tried fifteen times and nothing worked. Do you have what it takes for number sixteen and beyond?

To be strong enough to achieve, you must be persistent enough to pick yourself up after each disappointment, including this one. Otherwise, that valuable experience you just gained will be lost.

The only things that can ever have value to you are the things you’ve invested yourself in. Each setback is an opportunity to invest more, and to enlarge the size of your eventual reward.

Throughout history, success has been built with a combination of failure and persistence. Continue that legacy, and build some great new success of your own.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 15

Focus with care

Maybe the problem is not really a problem. Maybe you can change your perspective and the problem will disappear.

Sometimes you zoom in so intensely on a trivial issue that it seems like the most important thing in the world. While it’s great that you have such a powerful ability to focus, you must remember to use it with care.

Just because something makes a lot of noise doesn’t mean it has any great significance. Just because a task is urgent doesn’t mean it will make a difference.

Develop a solid appreciation for what makes your life good, for what threatens you, for what genuinely fulfills you. Allocate your attention and your efforts accordingly.

Reserve your considerable talent and creativity for those things that really matter. Take care not to get drawn in to those shallow, fleeting matters that don’t.

Take a deep breath, take a step back, sleep on it, go for a walk. You might save yourself a lot of time, anguish, and trouble.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 16

Each time

Do it once, do it again, and do it some more. Each time the habit becomes more ingrained.

Each time you get better. And the better you become, the more inspired you’ll be to make further improvements and additional efforts.

People who are highly skilled at what they do are people who practice, a lot. What good skill can you practice today, tomorrow, again and again?

Push yourself forward by pushing yourself to repeat what works and to improve on what doesn’t. Rise to higher and higher levels of skill by utilizing your skill, over and over.

You already know what to do, and you already know how to do it. Do it again, and improve on what you know.

Add repeatedly to the value that will exist in your future. With enough practice, with enough repetition, anything is possible.

— Ralph Marston

[willbe275]

Anything is possible with God. Thank you Jesus. Amen.

[bluidkiti]

July 17

Pay today’s price today

Here’s a quick, accessible way to improve every tomorrow. Stop putting things off.

Quit loading up tomorrow with the chores you can go ahead and do today. Don’t mortgage your time in the future to buy you a little bit of idle time today.

The days to come are certain to have their own new demands on your time. If you keep pushing yesterday’s and today’s demands into the future, you’ll soon be overwhelmed.

Right now you have the opportunity to avoid that fate. Right now you have the chance to make tomorrow a lot less demanding.

Make the choice to pay the price for now, now. Because right now that price is the lowest it will ever be.

Enable yourself to feel good about yourself tomorrow instead of disappointed. Do today’s work today, pay today’s price today, and greet the future with enthusiasm, with no need to catch up and no regrets.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 18

Walk up and get it done

There’s no need to over-complicate the work that’s in front of you. Just walk up to it and get it done.

Start from where you are, not from where you wish you could be. Take the first step now, not someday.

Aim for perfection but don’t let the lack of perfection hold you back. Offer your best, even if it’s not perfect.

Pay attention to those who tell you that your plan won’t work. Use that information to make sure that it does.

Decide at the outset that you’ll respond to every setback with increased energy and determination. Keep your thoughts focused on the details and your heart filled with the goal, all along the way.

Achievement happens when you choose, again and again, to make it happen. Now, get going and get it done.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 19

Certainty of doing

Trying is not doing. Only doing is doing.

Trying is a vague, loosely defined concept that doesn’t lead anywhere in particular. Doing is a precise set of actions leading toward a specific objective.

If you’re trying and not having any luck, there are two problems. You see yourself as merely trying, and you consider yourself under the influence of blind, random luck.

Give up your dependence on luck and depend instead on your own actions. Give up the idea that you’re trying, and replace it with the certainty of getting specific work done.

Trying gives you an excuse to fail, to quit. Give yourself instead the commitment to succeed, to prevail, to get the work done.

Climb out of the hazy, ineffective bewilderment of trying. Jump right into the clear, focused, exhilarating experience of doing all the great things you can do.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 20

Strong intention

When your intention is strong, you adapt, you innovate, you improve. When your intention is strong, whatever stands in the way becomes the way.

People can oppose your specific actions. But no one can change your intention unless you choose to change it.

With a strong, meaningful intention, every success is a success, and every failure is also a success. Point your intention in a precise direction, and each twist of circumstance will propel you in that very direction.

When one path becomes blocked you’ll find another. You’ll take every setback in stride, knowing full well that it’s not permanent.

Do you feel that the world is falling down around you, that nothing ever goes your way? Focus yourself upon an ambitious, meaningful intention, and immediately see things differently.

When life gets challenging, challenge it back with a force that’s directly connected to your purpose. Engage the entirety of your effectiveness with the power of intention.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 21

Thankful for your critics

If no one is willing or able to call you out when you are mistaken, that’s a problem. You avoid or ignore criticism at your peril.

There’s a reason why powerful kings of old had jesters. There’s a reason why so many cocooned celebrities have lives that end in tragedy.

If you’re able to make small mistakes with impunity, that leads you to make bigger and bigger mistakes. Eventually that can reach a level of depravity and destruction from which you have no escape.

Be thankful for your critics. Be mindful of what they say to you.

You cannot grow stronger if you are shielded from the consequences of your behavior. Whether your critics have your interest at heart or not, it’s in your interest to pay attention to them.

Take full advantage of the early warning system that your critics provide. See how their challenges, their objections, and their questions can all point toward your own improvement.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 22

No place for negativity

Bring more beauty into your life, and there will be less room for anxiety. Give positive action to your thoughts, and fewer of those thoughts will be centered around doubt.

When you actively resist what is undesirable, you unwittingly make it more prominent and powerful. Rather than resisting what you don’t want, replace it with what you do want.

Think of one thing that normally upsets you whenever it happens. Then decide that you’ll no longer be upset by it, and will instead be inspired to take positive action.

Choose not to give your energy to misfortune or malfeasance. Don’t let your dislike of a small part of reality overshadow all the other possibilities that are open to you.

Turn your attention toward what you love, and allow that love to permeate your awareness. Center your efforts around expanding and enhancing life’s goodness.

Fill your moments, your thoughts, your actions with what you treasure most. Make your life so positively purposeful that there’s no place for negativity to find a home.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 23

In front of you

Life is in front of you. Look up at it, see it, live it, love it, give the best of yourself to it.

Treasure all you’ve experienced and all you’ve been, and carry it forward. Give new life to your best memories by making even better ones today.

In front of you, possibility shimmers all the way to the horizon and beyond. Richness and wonder stretch far past anything you have yet seen or imagined.

Go see it, go do it, go give life a more complete experience of itself. Listen, learn, explore, investigate, and with each moment know more fully how it feels to be alive.

With kindness and generosity, share that feeling as you continue to expand on it. With gratitude and humility, sieze upon the opportunity that every moment offers.

Your life is more than a flat concept, more than a collection of carefully posed selfies. Life is rich beyond anything you could ever conceive, and it’s here, now, in front of you, imploring you to live it.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 24

Much value to provide

What are you settling for? How will you feel about that in the future?

It’s helpful to make compromises with other people. After all, different people have different priorities, and compromise enables useful cooperation.

But compromising your own ideals is a different matter. Allowing yourself to get by with less than your best can put you on a treacherous, disappointing path.

Once you’ve let go of the highest vision of yourself it’s easy to do again, and again. Once you’ve compromised one deeply held value or commitment, others are soon likely to follow.

You have a unique and valuable perspective on life. With that perspective comes the responsibility to live with authenticity, with commitment, with integrity.

You have much value to provide for your own life and the lives of others. Do yourself and everyone else a favor, and don’t settle for anything less than your best.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 25

What still works

When the problems are large and sudden and many, it can seem like nothing is working right. But that’s rarely the case.

Get a clear picture of all that’s wrong, but don’t let that be your only focus. Consider, appreciate, and make good use of what’s still right, of what works well and will continue to do so.

If a ship’s engine and rudder both stop working in mid ocean, that’s no reason to sink the ship. There are tools and materials on the ship with which you can make repairs.

You won’t solve the problem by dramatically demonstrating how bad it is. You’ll solve the problem by taking stock of your resources and putting them to good use.

Look for how you can adjust, revise, repair, re-prioritize. Find ways to fit what’s proven to work into addressing what’s broken.

A massive amount of time, energy, thought, and effort have led to this moment. Don’t abandon what still works just because things are not perfect.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 26

Take time

Take time to appreciate the beauty and wonder that constantly surround you. Take time to create new, original value out of the resources at your disposal.

Take time to read the instructions, and to carefully follow all the steps. Take time to plan for tomorrow and beyond.

Take time to listen. Take time to offer the encouragement and support of your presence.

Take time to consider how thankful you are for the life you have. Take time to let the other people in your life know how important they are to you.

Take time to offer kindness. Take time to understand.

Make use of your time for something other than being hurried, worried, and anxious. Take time, and spend it living well.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 27

Make a better you

You don’t need anyone else’s permission to make a positive difference in your own life. Focus yourself on an intention and get to work.

You can add richness to your world no matter what the broader economy is doing. You can spend the day in fulfilling activity regardless of what the pundits and leaders say or do.

You don’t need to wish or wait for a better world. Because right here, right now, you can make a better you.

You’re the person who knows most accurately and completely what’s best for you. You’re the person who can make much of that happen.

You will never have perfect options to choose from. Yet you always have the ability to select the best from whatever options are available to you.

Do what is good, what is right, what is helpful, smart, and purposefully positive, and make a better you. That’s what you can do to move toward a better world.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 28

Day of opportunity

This is a day of great opportunity. Because this is a day when you’re able to take action.

Look clearly and soberly at the challenges that face you today. See the new value and strength you will build by tackling those challenges.

If you feel even the least bit of discouragement go ahead and embrace the feeling. That gives you control, and you can then utilize that control to let the discouragement go.

When the going gets tedious, complicated, frustrating, break the pattern. Stand up, stride forward, shake off the doubt and despair, and get back on a positive track.

Keep reminding yourself what your actions will accomplish. Take whatever energy comes your way and apply it toward the goals you’ve set.

Feel how great it is to transform today’s opportunity into achievement. Treasure the chance to do it again and again.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 29

Be the answer

Don’t wish for some magical, instant answer to all the problems you see. Seek instead to be the answer.

Be the answer in the way you live each moment. Be the answer in the thoughts you entertain, in the values to which you adhere.

You have minimal influence over what others say or do or think or feel. Yet you have pretty much total control over the way you are.

So make good use of what you have. Live with the goodness you treasure, in every word, in every effort, in every interaction.

It’s what you can do, and it is significant. Live well, on a human scale, and your modest goodness serves to lift the world in ways far beyond what you can imagine.

The best answers to life’s problems are not ones that are forced, but ones that are freely chosen and faithfully lived. Be the answer, live the answer.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 30

Into stillness

In stillness you can hear yourself think. In stillness you can remember who you are.

In stillness you gain perspective. In stillness you connect to purpose.

If you so choose, every waking hour can be filled with information, entertainment, stimulation, and excitement. But that’s not your best choice.

Give yourself time and space for contemplation. Give yourself the opportunity to peacefully experience the depth of your own being.

All the bright rectangles bursting with color and motion and sound are intoxicating. They evoke reality, yet they are not even close to the sum of reality.

Arrange yourself into some stillness every so often. And reconnect with the deep, rich reality of your own rare and precious existence.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 31

Flip the negative

People, events, situations can leave you confused, frightened, angry, or resentful, often by design. Yet you can always choose a more empowered response.

Engage positively in life. Flip the negative influences on their head so they inspire you rather than bring you down.

Take a proactive approach to your own sense of well being. Absorb whatever energy is pointed your way and transform it into a force for goodness.

No one else has a right to control how you feel. So don’t give anyone the chance.

You’re very familiar with what inspires you to be your best. Make that your focus, and make good, helpful, productive living your outcome.

Flip the negative influences and commit yourself to being a positive presence in life. There’s a whole lot of good you can do by being you, so enable all that goodness to unfold.

— Ralph Marston