Daily Motivator - April

[bluidkiti]

April 1

Hope that makes no sense

Even in the darkest hour of the darkest night, you can envision light. Even when the stars are hidden by the thickest storm clouds, you know all those stars are still shining.

In the coldest depth of winter, the warmth of the summer sun lives in your heart. In times of great difficulty you can act on hope, and with that action exert positive influence.

Your circumstances may tempt you to be less than you are and punish you for being your best. Nevertheless, your unique beauty and the hope you carry both have the power to endure.

You are in this moment, living this situation. And yet you are also greater than whatever troubles and other realities surround you.

Hope is its most powerful when it has no basis to exist. In precisely the same way, you will find your greatest strengths in the midst of your most difficult challenges.

Make full use of your amazing ability to reason, but take care not to live by reason alone. There’s hope in you that makes no sense, and that hope can carry you through.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 2

Power in disillusion

Consider what a good thing it is when you are disillusioned. It is irrefutable evidence that you care.

But you must not permit yourself to merely wallow in disillusionment. Rather than waste your disillusionment on negativity, transform it into inspiration, into positive action.

Disillusionment points to a higher ideal. Such a strong sense of what you don’t want can clearly illuminate what you do want.

When you feel disillusioned, ask yourself why. Articulate what is wrong, then challenge yourself to precisely identify what would make things right.

You have the power to make those things happen in your own unique way. More importantly, you have the passion to do so, as is evidenced by your disillusion.

Tap deeply into the insight and power that underlie your feelings of disillusion. Put them to use in the service of goodness, of beauty, of truth and life.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 3

Doing what matters

Do things that matter. Avoid things that don’t.

Think thoughts that exert a positive influence on your actions. Gently let go of thoughts that waste time and needlessly push you into dark desperate places.

Your time is precious beyond any measure. Spend that time doing what you know is good, and right, truthful, helpful, appreciative and supportive of the wonder that is existence.

Every moment, every action has a cost. You are fully entitled and obligated to make sure each cost produces a genuine benefit.

That does not in any way give you an excuse to avoid the difficult pursuits. Rather, it summons you to focus the whole of your being on meaningful pursuits, as challenging and inconvenient as they may be.

You are here today to make real, meaningful, beneficial progress. Respect the miraculous nature of that opportunity, and spend this day doing what matters.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 4

Today you can

Today is your opportunity to discover how strong and purposeful you can be. Today you can bring new hope to a difficult situation.

Today you can act with intention, with determination, with resourcefulness. Today you can offer kindness, patience, genuine care and understanding.

Today your words, your choices, your energy can make the world a more positive place. Today you can focus your attention and your efforts on supporting what truly matters.

You can sail right on past what might have previously annoyed you, worried you, frustrated you. Today you can spend your time making real progress, building new value.

Yes, you’re faced with changes, challenges, limitations, and obstacles. And yet today, even with a strong headwind, you have the persistence to move in a positive direction.

Today you can make a difference for others, for yourself, if you’ll just step forward and do it. Take that opportunity, today.

— Ralph Marston

[willbe275]

Happy Easter my recovery Family, may the
Peace of our Lord and Savior be with you always.
He is Risen Indeed Alleluia. God bless you Tammy
And Karcker. Remember Jesus Loves you and so do I.

[bluidkiti]

April 5

True to yourself

Do what is right, say what is true. Even if it has no impact on anyone else, it makes a big difference to you.

Twenty four hours a day you must live with yourself and your decisions. You do not want to spend all that time, year after year, with a liar and a coward.

Be as civil, polite, cooperative, and understanding as you possibly can. But stop short of compromising your values, because that is not in anyone’s best interest.

You must first be true to yourself, true within yourself, if you are to be of any help to anyone else. Every good and useful thing you have to offer has its root in a consistent, truthful, authentic vision.

You have the power to set the whole world on a more positive path, but it won’t happen through shouting, preaching, cajoling or demanding. It will come from your steadfast commitment to what you know at your deepest level is true and right.

You have a well-developed sense of what is true, what is right, what is good. For your sake, for everyone’s sake, let it guide your every move.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 6

Best time to start

The way to make the work less difficult is to start getting it done. The way to make the long journey shorter is to take the first step.

Sure, you could procrastinate, or complain about what you must do, or wish for it not to be so hard. But those things accomplish precisely zero, and will waste your time in the process.

Instead, spend that time producing an actual benefit. The more work you do, the more of the work you’ll have behind you.

Measure the level of difficulty not just in the current moment but over the entire life of the effort. Almost without exception, when you look at it that way you’ll find that the sooner you start, the easier it will be.

Five minutes from now you can be closer to having the work finished. Keep working on it and before long you’ll have it done.

That’s an opportunity too good to pass up. The best time to start is now, so make right now the time you start.

— Ralph Marston

[willbe275]

For every Journey there's the first step,
so let us start stepping.

[Rockinbigdaddy]

Desire turns will into action.....

[bluidkiti]

April 7

Opportunity for steady progress

Persist, but don’t make your persistence into a burden. Persist because it is what you choose, because it is how you are.

If you conjure up a strong resentment for the necessity of your efforts, you lose twice. Your efforts won’t be very effective, and you’ll be tormented with the misery of your resentment.

Instead, remind yourself that the opportunity to make steady progress is a great thing to have. Fill your spirit with gratitude for that opportunity and for your ability to make the most of it.

With each effort, you are able to give support and value to something meaningful. In doing so, you are living life at its highest level.

You can easily let go of any temptation to judge a particular task as beneath you, or too tedious, or too complicated. You can find a sense of joy and satisfaction in your persistence, no matter what that persistence requires.

Make every effort count by making your attitude toward those efforts a positive and empowering one. Persist willingly, gracefully, enthusiastically, and find great fulfillment in all you’re able to do.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 8

Choose where to aim

If you’re troubled by uncertainty, set a meaningful goal for yourself. Though it cannot make you certain about what will happen, it will at least give you certainty about where you intend to go.

You cannot force an uncertain universe to have certainty. Attempts to do so will leave you precariously at odds with reality.

What you can do is nurture a sense of certainty within yourself, one that is based on what is real and under your control. You can choose where to aim, and that is no small thing.

It’s not the answer to every question or the solution to every problem. Yet it will help in ways you would never have imagined.

Choose where to aim, and suddenly you have a well-defined structure within which to evaluate and process whatever happens. Though you haven’t eliminated uncertainty, you have given yourself a sure and certain strategy for dealing with it.

Choose where to aim, and you can point life’s energy in a consistent and useful direction. Choose where to aim, because it’s a whole lot more certain than any alternative.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 9

Life matters

Life matters. Your life matters.

This hour matters. This day matters.

What you are doing makes a difference. Your commitment to excellence and integrity makes a difference.

Nothing you do is worthless, yet everything you do can be improved upon. No one you encounter is perfect, yet everyone has something unique to offer.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But it’s better, and just as realistic, to be filled with wonder and amazement.

Live every moment of life as if it matters. And you’ll know without the slightest doubt that it does.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 10

Ideal choice

On very rare occasions you can make the perfect choice. At all other times the perfect choice is not available to you, so you must make the best choice.

None of the alternatives you have to choose from may be ideal. Yet at least one of those alternatives is likely preferable to avoiding a choice altogether.

Or it could be that all of the alternatives are highly desirable, and you don’t want to miss out on any of them. Even in that case, choosing one and excluding all the rest is better than not choosing at all.

You can’t have everything, and you don’t want to have nothing. So you must choose, and make a commitment to your choice.

Value, success, and fulfillment are general, all-encompassing terms. Yet for each of these good things to be present in your life, it must exist in a specific form.

Your choices give life to your vision, to your ideals, even when what you have to choose from is not ideal. Choose the best that you can at every juncture, and you’ll steadily work your way to where you want to be.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 11

Promise of new goodness

With this morning, life comes to life again. Brightness and warmth arrive on the wings of a fresh and peaceful breeze.

From the dark depths of despair, hope arises. In the light of this new day, is the promise of better days to come.

There will still be struggle, yet now it will have more purpose. There will again be pain, yet now will be increased strength with which to meet it.

Feel your growing faith in the goodness of what can be. Allow new expectations to energize your vision.

Rise above the aches and anguish that once had held you in their grip. Greet life’s possibilities with renewed confidence, and a deeper love for all that is, all that can be.

Awaken in your entirety to the promise of new goodness. On this day and every day, live to bring that goodness to life.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 12

Good life

You might be highly frustrated today. But it’s a good life anyway.

People might cheat you, lie to you, and blame you for problems they themselves create. Even so, life has infinite capacity for goodness and fulfillment.

A whole lot of things cause you a whole lot of trouble. Yet when you step back and take a good, clear look, you see without question that life is well worth the trouble.

It’s all too easy to imagine sometimes that things are hopeless. But then you remember you’ve survived a lot worse, and in fact thrived, and so have many, many others.

Yes, at times life is tough. And it is precisely those times that enable you to see how very good life can be.

Whatever the situation, life is good when you decide it is good. And it’s your decision to make right now.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 13

What’s possible

Fresh possibilities are magnificent, inspiring, even intoxicating. Yet they can quickly grow stale and bitter when they are not exercised.

Tools that are routinely utilized grow in value as you become more experienced with them. Tools that are never used merely accumulate rust and take up space.

There is nothing sadder than what could have been, but wasn’t. That’s certainly not where you want your bright and shining possibilities to end up.

Following those possibilities will require lots of hard work from you. But that’s not such a bad thing.

After all, what makes the possibilities so attractive is the opportunity to invest yourself in them. By doing the work to achieve what’s possible you fulfill your deep-seated desire to make a difference.

Your best possibilities are meant to be fulfilled. Get busy making that happen.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 14

Set sail at sunset

Do what enables and encourages you to be delighted with the world. It is no less a necessity than breathing, eating, sleeping.

See that which is beyond what you have a reason to see. Experience what you could not ever expect to experience.

Make sure all your planning and striving have a purpose beyond merely more planning and striving. If you can make sense of all that calls to you, you’re not listening intently enough.

In this particular time and place you’re connected to all that has ever been and all that can possibly be. Gaze through those windows of beauty and mystery that permit you to see that reality.

Many things limit and constrain you, while some things set you free. Pay attention to them all.

Set sail at sunset, fly to the moon. Remind yourself how beautiful and amazing it is, to be.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 15

See what you can find

Exploration is more than just going where you have never been. It is going where you have never been and carrying with you all your capabilities and your knowledge.

Consider what a potent combination that can be. Exploration gives you the opportunity to apply existing competence to new situations.

Explore with your feet, with your mind, or with your heart. Ideally, explore with them all.

Begin a story even though you are not sure how it will end. Put all you know and all you can do into that story.

As your story unfolds you’ll find yourself growing more knowledgeable, more capable. You’ll be eager to explore again and again.

What have you been preparing yourself to explore? Set off in that direction and see what you can find.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 16

Positive and passionate purpose

Airing your grievances can feel good. But then what?

Finding new ways to complain about the same old things is not doing anyone any good. Don’t let yourself get stuck in that trap.

You’re passionate about the problems. Now do something positive and useful with that passion.

Yes, acknowledge those problems, and also choose not to let your life be defined by them. Do the work to create a positive and realistic vision of what you can live for.

See how much of your time, energy, focus, and awareness you can put into following that vision. See if you can get yourself to a place where your default feeling is one of hope rather than angst, and keep yourself there.

Your urge to complain about what’s wrong is pushing you to find new ways of doing what’s right. Accept the challenge, and give life the benefit of your positive and passionate purpose.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 17

Joy of existence

Enjoy today to the fullest extent possible, but not so much that you compromise tomorrow. Enjoy yourself in every imaginable way, but not in ways that depend on harming anyone else.

It is not selfish to engage in joyful experiences. What’s selfish is to deny joy to others, or to your future self, merely to serve the expedience of the current moment.

Neither your situation nor the world’s situation has to be perfect, or even adequate, for you to experience joy. Genuine joy is not something you take from life but is something you’re able to give that improves all of life.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking that a lack of joy in your life is anyone’s fault, including your own. Realize instead that joy is your potential, obligation, responsibility, and a pointer to your highest level of fulfillment.

Joy bears little resemblance to mere pleasure. Joy fulfills, engages, and energizes your deepest values, your integrity, your body, mind, spirit, and soul.

Seek to be a source, a conduit, and a grateful repository for the joy of existence. Know that in every circumstance there is life-affirming joy to be lived and shared.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 18

Treasure of wisdom

You have great wisdom, earned day after day over the years of your life. Don’t let that wisdom lie dormant, trapped in old experiences and forgotten words.

As every new day arrives, you can put that wisdom to use. As well-established in the past as your wisdom may be, it is always relevant in the present.

The fact is, you have an excellent sense of what to do, of what to avoid, of what to revere, of what to dismiss. Pay attention to that sense, and follow its guidance.

If something seems too good to be true, it very likely is. Rather than hoping that your wisdom is wrong, assume that it is right.

Your victories, your defeats, your disappointments and your joys, all empower you now to make your best choices. Life gets better when you learn from it and make good use of what you’ve learned.

Keep yourself connected to the growing treasure of wisdom that’s always yours. And keep your life going in a successful direction.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 19

Beautiful burden

The potential of this day weighs heavily on you. To ease that burden, you must actualize that potential.

Opportunity is also obligation. At a distance good fortune seems like a reward, yet up close it is also a great challenge and responsibility.

That’s because goodness and value are not static things. They must constantly find expression in the dynamics of living, or they cease to exist.

To the extent you rest upon achievement, or begin to take it for granted, you degrade and devalue that achievement. Instead, show your full gratitude for it by making full use of it.

The hours ahead are calling you to fill them with meaning. The years to come are insisting that you live them with purpose, in the best interest of you and of life itself.

Embrace the beautiful burden of your own potential. Treat everything you can be as the valuable and precious thing it is.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 20

Truth is worth the cost

The truth can be terribly painful. Yet avoiding the truth is worse.

As difficult as it may be, acknowledging the truth and carefully examining it adds to your understanding. The more clarity you achieve about why your life is the way it is, the better you will do going forward.

What painful truths about yourself, about others, about the world, have you been hiding from? Think of all the good things those truths could now teach you.

Like anything of value, wisdom is not free. You earn wisdom by asking why, and by being truthful with your answers.

There are endless ways to continue distracting yourself from the difficult truths, past and present, in your life. But by giving in to those distractions you deny yourself the strength, growth, understanding, and sense of purpose that truth can bring.

Seek truth, see truth, accept truth, however painful, unpopular and inconvenient it might be. Truth is at the root of every good thing you have, and truth is worth the cost.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 21

Slippery slope

Doing one small thing against your better judgment is not likely to have a major negative impact on your life. The problem is, that one thing can lead to another, and another, and soon you can be a long way from where you intended.

Avoiding a slippery slope in the first place is a whole lot less demanding than climbing back up. The small things matter much more than they might seem.

Self discipline has the unfortunate reputation of being difficult and oppressive. But it’s a lack of self discipline that actually ends up causing more trouble and misery.

When you continually discipline yourself about the small things, the big things rarely become an issue. You can either discipline yourself in ways you choose, or life will do it for you in ways you certainly will not like.

Every choice, big and small, has consequences. Every choice is an opportunity to re-affirm your commitment to a positive and meaningful future.

Make the best of all those opportunities. Your life is too valuable to choose even one small step in a negative direction.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 22

Know your limits

How do you transcend your limits? You start by acknowledging them, examining them, understanding them.

Limits have much less power over you when you’re precisely clear about what they are. The more you know about your limits, the more you can compensate for them.

When you’re able to fully compensate for a particular limit, it is effectively no longer a limit. Though it still may exist, from your perspective you have rendered it irrelevant.

Know your limits, and know them in detail. Then focus your time, energy, thought, and passion on your purpose.

Combine your desire to move forward with your thorough understanding of what’s hindering you. Unleash the power of your intention and identify ways to break through those limiting factors.

Rather than mindlessly cursing the limits, get to know them. That’s what will get you beyond them.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 23

Do it again

It’s very quick and easy to pull one weed out of your garden. It’s so easy in fact that you can do it again, and again, until all the weeds are gone.

You have no problem staying focused and on task for a brief moment. By simply stringing those moments together you can get hours of highly effective work done.

You know you can do it once and that means you can do it again. Repeat a positive pattern enough times, and whatever success you desire can be yours.

Remind yourself it’s not a massive task that you face. It’s a small, easily approachable task that’s repeated again and again.

Persistence is not a long and drawn out effort. Persistence happens in a series of instants, by simply starting the next step when you’ve finished the current step.

You don’t need some superhuman effort to get good and valuable things done. You just have to take the next step, and then continue to do it again.

— Ralph Marston

[Rockinbigdaddy]

Suppose that we believers in the Lord Jesus make our requests to God. Suppose also that, as far as we can honestly judge, the obtaining of our requests would be for our spiritual good and for the honor of God. We must then continue in prayer until the blessing is given to us. Furthermore, we have to believe that God does hear us and will answer our prayers. Frequently we fail in not continuing in prayer until the blessing is obtained and in not expecting the blessing. As assuredly as any individual uses these points, so assuredly will his requests be granted.

[bluidkiti]

April 24

Good things you can do

You can take on responsibility and you can handle it. You can make a commitment and you can follow through on it.

You can encounter challenge and then rise up to transcend it. You can envision value and then work to make your vision real.

You don’t have to beg for people to make things easy on you. You’re able to meet life where it is and make it the best it can be.

You can hold yourself together through the difficulties that arise. You can grow stronger and even more capable as the result of each experience.

You have integrity, potential, value, creativity, kindness and generosity within you. You are curious, adaptable, energetic, aware, intelligent, and passionate.

Life is not perfect and you are not perfect, yet there are certainly plenty of good things you can do. And right now, today is eager for all you’re able to give it.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 25

Long way to go

You can’t do all that must be done. Yet you can do something.

So go ahead, and do something, now, and whenever you can. Don’t let the overwhelming nature of the challenge compromise your ability to make real, meaningful progress.

You’ll never learn every detail you’d like to know. Yet you can always learn something, and then learn more.

There’s always room for improvement. So go ahead and improve, yourself, your world, the lives of those around you.

Though you won’t ever have all the answers, you can find more and more each day. When the road ahead is long, steep, and winding, take the next step.

In fact, choose to be thankful that you have a long way to go. And with love, with purpose, with curiosity and enthusiasm, keep going.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 26

Think before you respond

Some of what seems to get you frustrated may not actually be what’s making you frustrated. It could just be a habit you’re continuing to follow without even reconsidering why.

Perhaps you’re not well served by reacting the same way you’ve always reacted. Perhaps you can choose a more beneficial response.

Step back, take a deep breath, and take a good look. Ask yourself which of the ways you’ve been responding to life are in your best interest, and which are not.

It takes more effort to think before you respond. It also gets you much better results.

Are there people, concepts, or situations that cause you anger, anxiety, or despair just out of habit? Maybe it’s time to progress beyond those habits.

Use the power of your intention, driven by authentic purpose. Choose your attitudes and actions based on what works best for you now, and not necessarily on what you’ve always done.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 27

Do what you can do

Do what you can do. Someday you’ll be thankful for making good use of the time available to you.

Life is not fair and a whole lot of obstacles stand in your way. Time is short and you find it difficult to get any cooperation.

Nonetheless, do what you can do. If anything, the difficulties indicate how important it is that you go forward.

You can’t change the all-too-arbitrary nature of reality. Yet you can make a positive difference for at least one person, and most likely many more.

You may not receive appreciation or acknowledgement, but that’s okay. You’ll find plenty of reward in the effort and can manage just fine without the praise.

Though it’s probably not trendy or sophisticated, do what you can do. There’s plenty of simple goodness within you that’s eager to come out.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 28

Stick with the truth

Your situation is the way it is no matter what you tell yourself or others about it. You can choose what to do about it, but you cannot successfully choose to alter the reality of what has already come to pass.

Though the truth may be painful, deceiving yourself or anyone else will inevitably lead to even more pain. Truth, as difficult as it may be, provides the only starting point from which you can actually move forward.

Deception can be very convenient, but only for about thirty seconds. After that the usefulness of deception decays quickly, taking the quality of your life along with it.

Start with the truth and stick with the truth. Whatever its cost, whatever its pain in the short term is compensated many times over by benefit in the long run.

No experience, no situation, no extenuating circumstance makes truth any less essential. No excuse, no clever justification will enable you to escape what is real and what is true.

Truth obliges you to deal with reality. And that’s always a powerful, rewarding thing for you to be doing.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 29

Embrace today

Today will give you things you need, and many of them you won’t like. Take them anyway and be thankful, because you’re sure to eventually find great use for them.

Today will ask you to put forth some effort, make some sacrifices, and suffer a little unpleasantness. Eagerly do what’s asked of you and tomorrow you’ll thank yourself for the trouble.

If you let it, today will build your skills and increase your strength. Today will drop challenges on top of you, and in those challenges you can find great value.

Today is potential, promise, possibility. Today is tedious, frustrating, confusing.

Today is precisely where you’ll find life, your life. And today is where you can add new levels of richness to life by the way you choose to live it.

Today is not perfect, yet it is filled with everything you have and all you can be. Embrace today and all it encompasses as if it’s the most important thing you can do, because it is.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

April 30

Thoughts and instincts

Pay attention to your own thoughts and instincts. They come to you for good reason.

They are the voice of your life’s experience. They remind you of what you have forgotten or never even realized you knew.

No, your thoughts are not all knowing, your instincts are not perfect. But neither are they without meaning and value.

Give your thoughts at least as much consideration as you give to the words and advice of others. When you find yourself telling yourself something, listen with respect and curiosity.

Regularly give yourself sufficient solitude so you can hear yourself think. It’s amazing what will come to the surface when there’s no noise to drown it out.

Every day of your life you’ve been building wisdom within. Be sure to let that wisdom have its say.

— Ralph Marston