Daily Motivator - July

[bluidkiti]

July 1

Be with it

You could endlessly analyze what’s going on, or resist it, or find someone to blame for it, or fantasize that it’s something else entirely. Or you could simply be with it.

You could deny the uncomfortable, inconvenient aspects of who you are, of what you desire and care about, of how you feel. Or you could allow your authentic self to be.

You could resent, avoid, and complain about what you have to do. Or you could just go ahead and get it done, and apply yourself toward progress rather than toward resistance.

Your time, your energy, your awareness, your care and your passion are powerful and precious. Point them all toward peaceful, purposeful living and not toward wasteful, destructive fighting.

Every place, every person, every situation, every challenge, every moment has some kind of unique value to add to your life. Accept it, embrace it, give your best to it as it plays out, and be with it.

Life brings problems, opportunities, frustrations, joys, pleasure, discomfort, struggle and beauty. As each new adventure arrives, be with it.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 2

All the answers

You don’t have all the answers. No one does.

You don’t want to ever have all the answers, because then no more questions would be possible. There would be no more joy of discovery.

What you know has value. What you don’t know has great value too.

In what you know, there is much possibility. In what you don’t know, there is infinite possibility.

Each mystery you solve opens the door to more mysteries. You can find great satisfaction by discovering the answers and also by encountering even more questions.

Have the humility to remind yourself you don’t have all the answers. That will keep you always open to endless and continuing discovery.

— Ralph Marston

[willbe275]

Happy July, we welcome this new month with gratitude
and Thanksgiving to our higher power, grateful that You
got us through the month of June clean and sober one
day at a time. Have a awesome weekend Tammy and Kracker.

From your brother in recovery.
Wayne aka Willbe275.

[bluidkiti]

July 3

Kindness is being your best

You don’t have to look far to find a place where your kindness will make a difference. Kindness improves any situation and every situation where it is given.

It can be all too easy to get caught up in blame, drama, resentment, retribution, and other harmful thought patterns. A little kindness will bring a more positive perspective back into play.

Kindness reconnects you with what matters. Kindness reminds you about the best you can be.

When you’re not sure what to do, let kindness guide you in making a choice. If you’re filled with despair or discouragement, an act of kindness points your awareness in a more positive direction.

Kindness is you being your best. That’s a very powerful and productive way to be.

Right now there’s an opportunity for you to bring new kindness to life. Take that opportunity, and everyone will benefit when you do.

— 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

Give it a go

It might work out and it might not. The only way you’ll find out is to give it a go.

It’s comfortable and convenient to sit and do nothing. Yet it’s a whole lot more interesting and fulfilling to get up and explore some unknown territory.

Don’t just talk about what you might do, or wonder what it would be like. Take the steps, make the efforts, find a way, and make it happen.

Life is here right now to be lived. And right now is when you must live to the fullest, not someday, not when things are perfect, but right now as it is.

Though you’re certain to run into some problems, go ahead and give it a go. Though you’re often not sure what to expect, with each passing day you grow more capable at dealing with whatever arises.

There’s no end to the possibilities for achievement and discovery. Step forward today and give it a go.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 6

Living well

You are highly skilled at noticing what has value and then resonating with that value. You’re able to see what could be blocking good, meaningful experiences and devise ways to get beyond that barrier.

You can live well no matter what the outer situation may be. You can live well because you can choose your perspective and your actions.

Sometimes it might feel that living well is not possible or appropriate. Yet you’re able to honor those feelings, and you know that as soon as you do you begin to transcend them.

You’ve discovered again and again that living well is not a matter of what you have or what you do. Living well has everything to do with why you take the actions you take and value the things you value.

Today is another unique opportunity for living well. Amid all the challenges, complexities, frustrations and obligations, you’re able to find ample space for doing so.

Step forward now and fulfill that promise. Connect to the goodness that’s always a part of you and let it find full expression in living well.

— Ralph MarstonJuly 6, 2021
Living well

You are highly skilled at noticing what has value and then resonating with that value. You’re able to see what could be blocking good, meaningful experiences and devise ways to get beyond that barrier.

You can live well no matter what the outer situation may be. You can live well because you can choose your perspective and your actions.

Sometimes it might feel that living well is not possible or appropriate. Yet you’re able to honor those feelings, and you know that as soon as you do you begin to transcend them.

You’ve discovered again and again that living well is not a matter of what you have or what you do. Living well has everything to do with why you take the actions you take and value the things you value.

Today is another unique opportunity for living well. Amid all the challenges, complexities, frustrations and obligations, you’re able to find ample space for doing so.

Step forward now and fulfill that promise. Connect to the goodness that’s always a part of you and let it find full expression in living well.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 7

Give love

If your experience of love depends solely on being loved, you are sure to be disappointed. The power of love is in giving it.

Waves crashing on a sandy beach are wholly incapable of loving you. Yet you can have great love for them, and that love can bring much beauty and fulfillment into your life.

By letting go of your expectations about receiving love, you open yourself up to give more love. From that perspective you can fill your life and your world with the power of love.

Love inspires you to do what you would otherwise be reluctant to do. Love brings you courage, confidence, competence, as well as the energy and focus to apply them well.

You are always able to experience love because there is always some way for you to give it. It is in giving love that you find the wherewithal to live with meaning and fulfillment.

Give love and expand its beneficial power into every corner of your existence, of your world. Give love, and live at your most purposeful, authentic, and effective level.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 8

Your influence

Does your fulfillment depend on getting other people to change? Good luck with that, because you’ll need it.

What’s your most direct path to making the changes that will solve problems and create value in your world? The most direct path, and the one most likely to succeed, is to identify and implement changes within yourself.

Your influence in the wider world is limited. Yet you do have ample influence over your own actions, your own experience, and your own perceptions of that experience.

Do you really need the people close to you to change in order for you to feel better? Do you really need millions of people you don’t even know to change how they think, act, vote, or speak in order for your life to improve?

Sure, certain positive changes in the way others behave could be beneficial to you and to all of life. Yet by an overwhelming margin, the most consequential influence you have is over your own behavior.

Before you seek power and influence over others, do all you can do to bring about goodness using your own influence over yourself. That’s the most reliable, most direct way to improve not only your life, but the lives around you as well.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 9

Receiving abundance

The way to receive life’s abundance is to express it. The way to receive life’s abundance is to do something creative and useful with it.

There is always something valuable that you can create with your time, your thoughts and actions. In every moment, in every situation, there is something you can do to express life’s abundance.

Whatever you’re able to create may not be something you particularly desire or require, but that’s ok. Because there are other people who wish to have it, and who will happily pay you for it with something else of value to you.

In ways that are familiar and in ways that haven’t yet been imagined, you can create value. With gratitude in your heart, and a desire to give meaning to life, you can create value.

You are surrounded by a sea of abundance. You are alive and aware and highly effective, in a universe that’s overflowing with possibilities.

Through your own unique perspective, you can transform that raw, formless abundance into specific, tangible value. That is how wealth is created, and there is no limit to how much of it you can create.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 10

Choose a positive future

How do you envision the future? Whatever you expect plays a key role in the way your future unfolds.

Of course nothing is going to work out exactly as you anticipated merely because of your expectations. Yet the best chance to end up in a positive place is to move in a positive direction.

Your future is fast approaching, and the way you live right now makes a difference in how that future will be. Your future is as bright and fulfilling as you choose in the present to make it.

Sure, there are plenty of understandable reasons to be discouraged about the future. Yet because the future isn’t here, and because you play a key role in it, being positive about the future is just as realistic.

At this point, the future you envision is completely up to you. So your best strategy is to envision the most positive future you can imagine.

Go ahead, choose to be positive about the future, and arrange your actions accordingly. By so doing you’ll lift your world higher starting right now and extending into all the future days to come.

— 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

Do you really need it?

It’s easy to develop the feeling that you depend on certain things to be certain ways. It’s liberating to realize you don’t need nearly as much as you thought.

Do you really need all the things you think you need? Do you really need, for example, all conditions to be perfect in order to get your work done?

Many of those things that feel like needs are not really necessary. Some might just be convenient excuses rather than hard and fast necessities.

Sure, there are plenty of things and conditions that would be nice and convenient to have. Yet just because something is desirable does not mean it’s absolutely necessary.

Almost always, you can identify multiple ways to get from where you are to where you want to be. And if you don’t have all you need for one route, there will be other routes you can choose.

When your progress is blocked by something you need but don’t have, step back and take a closer look. You’re likely to find another way that frees you from whatever need might be holding you back.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 13

Richness that endures

Plenty of choices can bring you pleasure in the moment. Yet when the moment is over the pleasure is gone and you’re left with nothing to show for it.

You can do better. You can choose other ways to spend your time, to invest your effort, attention, and resources.

You don’t have to settle for cheap, meaningless, instant gratification. You always have the option to devote your time and energy to activities that bring lasting fulfillment.

What can you do today that you’ll still be thankful for doing a week from now? What can you do with your time to create value that grows more meaningful as the months and years go by?

The instant thrills and sensations will fade before the next instant. You deserve to experience richness that endures a whole lot longer than that.

Live in the moment, but don’t live merely for the moment. Use today to enrich your world in ways that continue long after the day is over.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 14

Day by day

Your health, your wealth, your relationships, your self esteem are occasionally influenced by the big, dramatic things you do. Yet these areas of your life, and many more, are mostly determined by the little things you do, again and again, day by day.

You can’t brush your teeth just once a month and expect to have a healthy mouth, even if you brush really, really well. You can’t make a big push to earn lots of money every six months, and do nothing the rest of the time, and expect to be financially secure.

Ongoing, disciplined attention supports and advances the good things you care about. There is no substitute.

Those good things that benefit you are inseparable from the diligence with which you enable them and attend to them. Day by day is the way.

Make the best choices today, then make them again tomorrow, the next day, and the next. That’s what progress looks like, that is how success feels.

Get in the habit of getting in the habit. You can do anything day by day, and it will take you wherever you decide to go.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 15

Respect toward others

Speaking or acting with disrespect toward someone does not bring any meaningful value your way. In fact it can put you at a significant disadvantage.

By contrast, being respectful costs you nothing, even when it involves those you disagree with. Your respectful attitude can be of great benefit to you, especially with those who oppose you.

Respect toward someone else enables you to see that person more clearly, more realistically. Respect fosters understanding, and that always works to your advantage.

Respect facilitates communication. In every interaction the more effectively you communicate the more positive your outcome is likely to be.

Respect is the smart choice. Respect comes from a position of power and solidifies that position of power.

Challenge yourself to act with respect, especially when you don’t want to. You’ll quickly realize what a powerful and enduring advantage it gives you.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 16

Now is the hour

If you want to get ahead, today is the day to work on it. If you wish to make progress, now is the time to act.

The past can give you a frame of reference. Yet your past can’t push you forward and you must not let it hold you back.

Today is your opportunity to do what you’ve been meaning to do. The conditions are not perfect yet they are sufficient.

Go ahead with what you have and utilize what’s available. Use today or you will lose today and its opportunities.

The difficulties feel disheartening and the challenges seem overwhelming. Yet the moment you act you begin to put yourself in control and to change all that.

So exercise your best option and do the good, useful, effective things you can do. This is the day, now is the hour.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 17

Forge ahead

You can think of many things to complain about. But complaining is not going to produce anything of value.

Put less focus on what is wrong. Turn your attention toward new, creative, innovative ways to support and expand what is good, what is right.

Leave behind your complaints and forge ahead. Leave behind the blame, anger, and resentment, and make yourself into a shining example of what a good life encompasses.

There will always be difficulties but they do not have to contaminate your experience of life. There will always be challenges, and you are able to transform those challenges into fulfillment.

Life is not some warm, soft, ultra comfortable refuge where no problems ever intrude. Life is the magnificent opportunity to deal with whatever comes along.

Live well by continuously looking forward. Forge ahead and make life good by virtue of the fact that you are living it.

— 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

Truth is all

Who you know yourself to be is far more important than what anyone else thinks of you. Being true to all you love, value, and care about is far more consequential than your level of popularity.

Ultimately, all you have is what is true. If you abandon truth, you are left with nothing.

It can often be comfortable and convenient in the moment to ignore the truth. Yet those comforts will slide away, those conveniences will crumble, and truth will always confront you.

Your best option is to willingly choose truth each time you can. Keep yourself aligned with truth and let its power exert constant positive influence on your life.

You cannot rely on finding truth in what someone says, no matter how well qualified they may be. You cannot even be sure of finding truth in what you believe.

Truth is in what you know, in what you live, and that truth is both difficult and undeniable. Put that truth into all you say, all you do, for there is really no other good choice.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 20

When to let it be

Always there are things you can change, yet sometimes it is best not to. Among your many choices is the choice to let it be.

Some realities will benefit from your attention, effort, and manipulation. Others are best left alone.

A sign of wisdom is knowing which is which. An exercise of strength is to abide by that wisdom.

You eagerly do your best to exert a positive influence on life. That can sometimes mean giving goodness the necessary time and space to unfold as it will.

Though it’s tempting to think you can fix everything, time and experience have taught you otherwise. Be willing to act, and also be willing to let it be.

There are times when your efforts to help could actually lead to more harm. Be realistic about your limits, mindful of the possibilities, and know when to let it be.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 21

Thoughts of others

Someone turns to look at you. Your mind immediately gives a loud and intrusive voice to whatever you imagine that other person is thinking.

As soon as you hear that voice, turn down its volume. Pay attention, consider briefly what it could be saying, but don’t let it interrupt or overwhelm you.

The fact is, you don’t really know what that person is thinking. And there’s nothing you can do about it anyway.

If you’re so inclined, engage that person in conversation. That gives each of you the opportunity to express your thoughts.

But don’t allow the imagined voice of someone else to corrupt your purposeful thoughts and actions. Focus instead on the good work you can do.

Give your respect and attention to those around you without obsessing over what they may or may not think. Choose your thoughts based on purpose, not on fear or insecurity, and let those thoughts continue to push you positively forward.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 22

Keep working on it

You’re not perfect, but you’re getting better. Keep working on it.

You’ve had some setbacks, been disappointed by other people in your life, and sometimes have disappointed yourself. Yet you’ve learned from it all, you’ve become stronger and more determined.

Success doesn’t happen in a straight, unbroken line. Those efforts along the way that don’t work out actually do work out in the big picture.

The obstacles, false starts, setbacks and wrong turns add richness to the journey. They let you know how far you’ve come and give value to whatever you achieve.

You’re a more experienced, more resilient person than you were a couple of years ago. There’s much good you can do with that strength you’ve recently earned.

Though it hasn’t been easy, your trajectory has persistently worked its way upward. Remember why you’re doing what you do, and keep up the good work.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 23

Give to yourself

Give to yourself some goodness. Give to yourself some love.

Give yourself some time, attention, patience, and care. Give yourself understanding and acceptance.

Know how good it feels when you are genuinely good to yourself. Then realize how easily and naturally you can expand that good feeling to others.

Be good to yourself not out of selfishness, but to gain skill and experience. Create within yourself a source and a supply of goodness that you can share with all of life.

The more generously you give to yourself the more effectively you can give to those around you. Accept and understand yourself, and you’ll further your acceptance and understanding of others.

What you have to give is what you have first given yourself. Give generously, and let that generosity expand far and wide.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 24

Wake up to opportunity

Just before you go to sleep, remind yourself that when you wake up you’ll wake up to opportunity. You’ll wake up fully aware of all you have, eager to make good use of it.

Then wake up early to that opportunity. Wake up to energy, enthusiasm, and a willingness to fulfill your best possibilities.

Begin the day focused on the good things you can do with it. Right from the start, before anything has the chance to steal that focus, jump into positive action.

Don’t get bogged down waiting for inspiration to come to you. Make the inspiration happen as a result of your attitude and actions.

Establish your forward momentum as soon as the day begins. Feel the potential achievement that awaits and let yourself be drawn in its direction.

There’s fresh new opportunity in each day that dawns. Wake up with that opportunity at the center of your awareness and transform it into real value.

— 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

See it through

Before you start any new endeavor, make sure you are committed to seeing it through to completion. Before you stop, make sure you have finished all the work.

Doing a dozen things halfway accomplishes nothing. With the same effort you could do a half dozen things completely.

Yes, the experience counts for something even when you don’t finish what you start. But what good is a lot of experience if you never see anything all the way through?

Many times just a little more effort can prevent the waste of all the effort that you’ve already put forth. The work you do to finish the job enables you to benefit from all the other work you’ve done.

You’ve already invested yourself in the endeavor. Go ahead and do what is necessary to make that investment pay off.

Start work that you will finish and finish the work you have started. Achievement is yours when you see it through.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 27

Better than rudeness

There is no situation, no interaction, that is improved by rudeness. When you are frustrated, lashing out at someone else does nothing to ease that frustration.

Rude, vengeful behavior creates captivating drama on reality television shows. But it is a disastrous way to live real life.

When you have a problem with someone else’s behavior, don’t make it your goal to merely call out that behavior. Respond with the intent of solving the problem rather than escalating it.

When there’s a lack of kindness and an abundance of thoughtlessness, adding rudeness will not help. What will improve the situation is when someone steps forward and offers respect and consideration.

You can be the person to do that. You can advance the whole situation far beyond the useless and destructive exchange of rudeness.

Choose an approach that solves the problem rather than merely satisfying your ego. There’s always an option that works much better than rudeness.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 28

Do what adds value

Do what adds value to life. Do what adds meaning, joy, and beauty to the world.

When deciding how to spend your time, ask yourself a simple question. Will this add richness to my life or the lives of others, or will it merely waste precious time?

Keep reminding yourself of the opportunities available to you. Keep reminding yourself that at any moment you’re either moving forward or moving backward.

Choose to go forward. Choose to expand upon the goodness.

Even the smallest improvement is infinitely preferable to no improvement. And there’s always some improvement, large, small, or in between, that you can make.

Imagine what would happen if you made meaningful use of every moment. Then bring the best of what you imagine to life by putting it into action.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 29

Untold riches

You are not a flat, static image to be tweaked, edited, optimized and disseminated. You are a deep and complex bundle of yearnings, contradictions, experiences, wonder, vulnerability, and love.

You are more than you could ever know or express. And so is every other person.

Within that truth are endless possibilities for connection, understanding, richness, achievement, and joy. Ask yourself, what are you doing to respect and explore that infinitely fertile ground?

It’s convenient to walk around with simple, unchanging, one-dimensional tokens in your mind to represent yourself and others. But it’s essential to remember that your overly-simplified map is not the territory itself.

In this life, in this reality, in this existence, you have just barely scratched the surface. The great thing is, there is no limit to how deep you can go.

What could you do today to know yourself better, and to more richly connect with someone else? Here is your opportunity, here is your challenge, your call to untold riches.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 30

Get up and go

You can do it when you set your mind to it. You can do it when you commit your time to it.

You can do it when you stride confidently past your doubts. You can do it when you decide not to plunge into the pit of meaningless distractions.

You can do it when you have a good, meaningful reason. You can do it when you keep going for as long as necessary.

You can do it when your desire for achievement overpowers your desire for comfort, convenience, and self-pity. You can do it when you go ahead and take the next step no matter what just happened.

You can do it when you realize how worthless and debilitating the excuses have become. You can do it when you remind yourself that a single action is more effective than a thousand complaints.

What great good do you envision for your world, for your life? You can do it when you are ready, when you muster the will, when you get up and go.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

July 31

New beauty

Listen to what life tells you. Act on it.

Open yourself to truth, no matter how painful or demanding. Stick with that truth.

Feel your own desires, your own fears, your potential for joy, your ability. Feel the love you have for all you care about.

Be thankful for all you’ve been through, for all you have, for all that’s possible. Express that gratitude by making use of it, by pointing it in a positive and beneficial direction.

Watch as the sun appears over the horizon. Stand in amazement at the opportunity contained in just a single day.

Then do something about it, do something with it. Create the new beauty that is waiting for you to bring it to life.

— Ralph Marston