Daily Motivator - May

[bluidkiti]

May 1

Made for this moment

You are made for this moment. Give it the best you have.

You are made for this life. Live it the great way you know you can.

You are meant to experience the richness of right now. Take the beauty, the pain, the disappointments and victories in stride like you know what you’re doing, because you do.

All the things you’ve ever done have given you the wisdom, resources, and skills to live this day. Use them well.

Remember what you care about, and why. Know you can do this, and do.

You are made for this moment, and now it has arrived. You know what to do.

— Ralph Marston

[willbe275]

Happy and joyous New month Tammy and Kracker. Lets thank
God for bring us through the month of April with all its up's and
downs. We pray that the month of May will be full of peace,
good health and prosperity for you and your familys.
Thank you Lord for our recovery and A.A.

[bluidkiti]

May 2

Hidden possibilities

Just because an experience has gone a particular way a thousand times is no reason it will go that way again. Every situation is a new opportunity.

Life is incomprehensibly dynamic. Everything is in motion all at once.

Yet all too often you rely on a static, unchanging map to navigate through it all. That leads you to make assumptions that have very little basis in current reality.

Of course you don’t have time to think all the way through every decision, so you must make certain assumptions. Yet you must also keep in mind that some assumptions could be holding you back.

Humility can be very useful in addressing the issue. Remind yourself that you don’t know it all, and that helps you avoid getting stuck in debilitating assumptions.

Don’t keep telling yourself you can’t when in fact you can. Look closely and see all the possibilities you’ve been hiding behind your assumptions.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 3

Challenge yourself

Challenge yourself. Then step up to the challenge.

Put yourself in a position where you have no choice but to achieve. Then do what you must do to make that achievement happen.

You know you can do it. You just need a push, and who better to give you that push than yourself?

Give yourself a challenge that has meaning to you, that aligns with your purpose. Then, rather than resenting the challenge, you’ll find joy and fulfillment in working through it.

From the top down, from the inside out, mentally, physically, emotionally, you are built to handle challenge. Put your abilities to purposeful use, and see how good and right it feels.

Give yourself something challenging to do. And enjoy the satisfying experience of making it happen.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 4

Hope expressed through you

You cannot solve all the world’s problems. Neither can anyone else.

Yet you can make a positive difference each day in your own life, and in the lives that your life touches. And so can everyone else.

There is plenty of hope in life, and no shortage of opportunities for real progress and flourishing. If you have trouble seeing that hope, you are not looking in the right place for it.

Hope is not confined to any one person, or system, or institution, or idea. Hope is far too widespread to ever be fully comprehended, yet it has a tenacious ability to be realized.

Do what is good for life as you know it, as you see it, in the place where you live it. Know that hope is expressed through how you live, and comes forth in what you do.

Don’t waste energy wishing for a magic solution to all the problems. Instead, exercise the real magic, the real hope that comes from working to make life good every chance you get.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 5

Exercise your patience

Your physical health benefits from exercising your muscles. In a similar way, your mental health benefits from exercising your patience.

Think of something that always frustrates you. Next time you do it, see if you can be more curious, more tolerant, more patient, and less frustrated.

Being in a hurry does not add quality to your life. Being more patient does.

Consider what happens when you demand to get what you desire as soon as you desire it. You cheat yourself out of the valuable anticipation and appreciation for the good things coming your way.

Be patient with people, and everyone benefits more from the relationships. Be patient with new situations, and enable yourself to realize their full value.

Choose to exercise your patience. Discover how strong and useful you can make it.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 6

Truth and reality

Dealing with reality is difficult. But avoiding reality is vastly more difficult.

The truth does not go away because you ignore it. The sooner you acknowledge what is true, what is real, and deal with it, the better.

Today you have the opportunity to be honest with yourself and with others. Today you have the opportunity to be realistic about what you must do and in fact to do it.

In the short term, that’s not your easiest choice. Looking at the big picture, though, it is without question your best option.

A life of quality, meaning, purpose and fulfillment cannot be based on any kind of deception or avoidance. As difficult and inconvenient as they may be, it is within life’s truth and reality that you can experience real richness.

Embrace what is true, what is real. That puts you in position to create what is good.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 7

Your own best potential

It’s easy to sit back and let yourself be captivated by the follies of others. But you’re capable of so much more.

The more difficult option is to figure out what you care about and get yourself deeply involved in it. That’s also a much more fulfilling option.

Your life has great and unique value. Can you feel, somewhere inside, the obligation to be true to your own best potential?

There’s never any reason to beat yourself up for falling short of perfection. Yet you can always encourage yourself to be more purposeful, authentic, and engaged in life.

With each choice that confronts you, consider this question. What is the path that enables you to more fully fulfill your potential?

You can choose that path a little more often, a lot more often, perhaps even most of the time. Imagine what that could do, and then work to live the reality of what you imagine.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 8

Meaningful effort

There are countless activities you can engage in to convince yourself and others that you’re working when you are not. One of the best things you can do for yourself and for the world is to avoid that trap.

You are constantly confronted with opportunities to make a meaningful difference. Act on as many of those opportunities as possible.

That doesn’t mean you must weigh yourself down with excessive work. Rather, avoid weighing yourself down with excessive trivialities.

The most fulfilling experiences you’ll have are the times when you willingly choose to take responsibility. The more of those experiences you create and follow through on, the better your life becomes.

So take responsibility for your actions in this moment. Take responsibility for the problems and opportunities you see right now that you can act on right now.

In the immediate term and even more so in the long term, your best option is meaningful effort, not meaningless activity. Instead of just passing the time, choose to get real value from what you can do with it.

— Ralph Marston

[willbe275]

Happy Mothers day my dear friends.

[bluidkiti]

May 9

Daily surprises

Life is full of surprises. And you are particularly skilled at noticing those surprising new developments in your environment.

Treasure and appreciate your fascination with novelty, for there are times when it can keep you alive and out of danger. But don’t let yourself become so consumed with the daily surprises that it interferes with the good work you can do.

Just because something is new or newsworthy doesn’t necessarily make it worthy of your sustained attention. That attention is a valuable resource, something it’s best not to squander.

You’re going to notice most of the surprises. Yet that doesn’t mean they have to distract you from what you’re doing or thinking or saying.

Make note of what’s new, of what’s changed, of what’s different than it was. Then recommit yourself to following through on all you had already intended to do.

Let life continue to deliver its many surprises. But don’t let those surprises prevent you from living the life you have chosen to live.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 10

Choose mindfully

This moment is more than enough. How much of it can you see, and feel, and experience?

Are you fully here, making the most of your countless opportunities? Or are you obsessing about something that’s already over or has not yet even happened?

Yes, the same old automatic habits and thought patterns will get you through the day. But you, and your experience of life, deserve so much more.

Take a moment, take a breath, take a break from your usual routines and expectations. Allow your awareness to absorb the wonder of existence that’s all around you.

Feel the energy of your life as it dances forward through time and space. Gain a new and startling and magnificent view of the possibilities here right now.

Break through the mindless noise, and allow yourself to see all the goodness and beauty to which you’re constantly connected. As you step forward, choose mindfully, choose intentionally, choose accordingly.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 11

What matters most

What does it gain you to win an argument and lose a friend? What does it gain you to reap a financial windfall and sacrifice your most treasured values?

Before making any choice, take a moment to remember who you are and to envision the person you aspire to be. Take a moment to remember what matters most.

You can do just fine without the meaningless thrills and pleasures. You’ll have a lot more trouble getting along without a clear and positive purpose, or without all you truly love and value.

Do yourself a favor and refuse to sell yourself short. Do the work, make the sacrifices, embrace the challenges of supporting and promoting what matters most.

Life can often be difficult and downright painful. You owe it to yourself and others to make life worth all the hardship.

That means doing all you can to bring true goodness to the surface. That means renewing your commitment each day to what matters most, with the time you spend, the energy you give, and the choices you make.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 12

Apply what you’ve learned

What did you get right yesterday? What can you do to expand on it?

In what ways have you disappointed yourself lately? How will you avoid making those same mistaken choices again?

Your actions are not perfect, nor are they perfectly awful. You can find great benefit in considering what has worked out well and what hasn’t.

Regret is painful and that’s what can make it so useful. Rather than being punished by your regrets, choose to be enlightened and improved by them.

Find new ways to repeat the patterns of thought and action that have had a positive impact. And stay away from those patterns that led you to dark and regretful places.

You’ve learned a lot, and paid a significant price for all that wisdom. Going forward, make every effort to put it to good use.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 13

Living up to your expectations

Is the reality of life responsible for your disappointment? Or could your unrealistic expectations be to blame?

Are you expecting to reap rich rewards without putting forth any effort? Are you expecting to be respected and admired without being responsible and considerate?

You are free to expect whatever you choose to expect. Yet just because you expect something does not make it real.

Your positive expectations can drive you to achieve, and that’s a good thing. However, expectations alone will not magically bend reality to suit your desires.

That’s something you have the good fortune to be able to do. You can expect the best and then do the work that will bring those expectations to life.

In order for reality to live up to your expectations, you must yourself live up to those expectations. That’s the path to lead you away from disappointment and toward fulfillment.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 14

Dance together

Stop forcing your limitations to clash with your possibilities. Let them dance together.

You cannot eliminate all limitations and challenges from life. What you can do is work within them, alongside them, to fulfill the possibilities you wish to fulfill.

That requires some give and take, adjustments, innovation, boldness, understanding, and creativity. Think of it as a graceful and exhilarating dance.

Though your limitations may seem at first glance to oppose your possibilities, that’s not entirely true. For if there were no limitations of any kind, the possibilities would have no value.

Let go of your resentment about what’s holding you back. Find ways to work with it, to dance with it, rather than fighting against it.

Tease out the opportunities that exist within your challenges and limitations. And gracefully dance your way to the fulfillment of your best possibilities.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 15

Choose well

You can have what you want for right now or you can have what you want for later. You cannot have both.

Now will be over in an instant. Later will last a whole lot longer.

If you sacrifice now to gain value later, you’re paying a small price and getting a big, long-lasting reward. If you sacrifice the quality of your life later to get what you want right now, you’re paying a huge price to obtain a tiny reward that soon disappears.

It’s easy to see what is the better choice. It’s not so easy to implement that choice.

Yet you have the power to make that better choice and to stick with it. You can make the relatively small immediate sacrifices to lead to a vastly improved future.

The choice is always here and the choice is always yours. Remind yourself what’s at stake, and choose well.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 16

Get it behind you

It’s not the most enjoyable thing you’re ever going to do, yet it must be done. So block out some time as soon as you can, do the work, and get it behind you.

Perhaps it’s unfair you have to do it, and no one else appreciates how difficult it is. As true as all that may be, your best option is to go ahead and get it done.

Look back on your past experience. You’ll clearly see that procrastination and avoidance have never made anything any easier.

Of course you don’t feel like it right now. But once you get started, and make a little progress, and realize you will soon have it done, you’ll feel much better.

Now is when you can stop putting it off and start putting it behind you. Now is when you can improve the quality of every future moment by getting an unpleasant task done.

The freedom of having it behind you is just a little bit of effort away. Get started creating that freedom right now, and make room for all the other great things you can do.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 17

Best day yet

Today is your best day yet. And with the way you live today, you can make tomorrow even better.

Every moment the richness of your experience accumulates. And you can make use of that existing richness to create additional richness.

Yes, life has its problems and always will. Yet the very existence of those problems presupposes an underlying and persistent goodness that cannot be denied.

Remind yourself of all the goodness that’s much too easy to take for granted. Let your appreciation for life inspire you to new heights of creativity, compassion, understanding, and love.

Here you are right now at the potent intersection of experience and possibility. You know what choices have brought you here and you can utilize that priceless wisdom going forward.

No matter what has happened or failed to happen, in a very real way this is your best day yet. And now is when you can make the most of its treasure.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 18

Take the opportunity

When you have the opportunity to add joy to someone’s life, do it. When you have the opportunity to experience something new, take it.

Each time you come across the opportunity to learn, make the most of it. If you encounter the opportunity to take on a challenge, give your best to it.

Look at the world and clearly see what’s there. Then look again and see what could be, see the opportunities for improvement, fulfillment, and value.

Let life’s continuing opportunities inspire you into action. Focus your energy and your efforts on transforming opportunities into valuable realities.

No matter what the situation, you have the opportunity to make a positive difference by the way you choose to live. As life swirls around you, commit yourself to creating beneficial outcomes.

Don’t give regrets the chance to weigh you down. Recognize the opportunities, act on them, and make life better because of the way you choose to live it.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 19

Contrast

To fully appreciate the springtime thaw, you have to endure the frozen winter. To get the most enjoyment on a sunny day, you must live through some rainy ones.

Work is fulfilling because you don’t do it all the time. Play is pleasurable because it’s not the only thing you do.

If everything was the same color and brightness, it would be difficult to see anything. And just as your eyes need contrast to discern objects, your life needs contrast to garner value and meaning.

Activities, ideas, conditions, opinions, products and plans can all benefit from being contrasted to other things. Life is enriched by a diversity of contrasting experiences, circumstances, and thoughts.

Can you hold two opposing concepts in your mind at once, or give your best effort to something and then let it go? Pursuits such as this make life rich, rewarding, fascinating, and fulfilling.

Continue introducing yourself to a rich variety of viewpoints. Give your days, your experiences, your life the benefits of contrast.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 20

Make goodness

Good things don’t come easy, but good things do indeed come. Put in the time, put in the effort.

Push away thoughts of what you might be missing. Focus your awareness around the actual good you are creating.

When the work gets tedious or challenging, let it be tedious, let it be challenging. But keep on with it anyway.

Time is the most valuable resource you have. Do all you can to make sure you’re spending it on something equally valuable.

It’s an amazing feeling to discover how strong, effective, diligent you can be. Set yourself up and do what it takes to experience that feeling again and again.

Make excellence your everyday attitude. Make goodness and value everywhere you go.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 21

Live right now

You’re here now. Think like it, act like it.

There are upcoming events and obligations you know about, and other upcoming twists and turns that will surprise you. As compelling as all that may be, none of it is here yet.

What is here, and what is now, is your life in this moment and your opportunity to live it well. Apply your focus, your thoughts, and your considerable skills to what’s going on right now.

It’s useful to anticipate the future, to plan and prepare for it. Just be careful not to be obsessed or overwhelmed by it.

There’s much you can live and do and see and experience right now. While right now is here, give those things your top priority.

Take a breath, look around, and recognize the powerful time and place you’re already in. Then step forward, focused and aware of this moment’s great possibilities, and live right now.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 22

Purposeful perspective

Step back for a little while today, tomorrow, and every day. Remember who you are, where you came from, where you seek to go.

It’s all too common to get caught up in those things that seem important but really do not matter. It’s much too easy to ignore what you truly want to be, to experience, to achieve.

So make some time in every day for your best visions, your most respected values, your treasured dreams. As you do what you do, continue to align yourself with why you do what you do.

There’s a vital part of you that yearns for the adventure of living true to who you are. There’s a whole sophisticated set of abilities within you that can deliver that adventure.

No matter what limitations you may face, you can always live up to your highest ideals. You can connect every action, every thought to a purpose that transcends the limitations of the moment.

Look at what’s going on, at what you’re doing, with full awareness of what matters most to you. Live with a purposeful perspective, and you’ll always bring your best to life.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 21

Live right now

You’re here now. Think like it, act like it.

There are upcoming events and obligations you know about, and other upcoming twists and turns that will surprise you. As compelling as all that may be, none of it is here yet.

What is here, and what is now, is your life in this moment and your opportunity to live it well. Apply your focus, your thoughts, and your considerable skills to what’s going on right now.

It’s useful to anticipate the future, to plan and prepare for it. Just be careful not to be obsessed or overwhelmed by it.

There’s much you can live and do and see and experience right now. While right now is here, give those things your top priority.

Take a breath, look around, and recognize the powerful time and place you’re already in. Then step forward, focused and aware of this moment’s great possibilities, and live right now.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 23

Live selectively

You cannot see it all, be it all, do it all. What you can do, is do some things very well.

Choosing everything is not a choice, it is a refusal to choose. And it leaves nothing with any meaning.

Quantity is no substitute for quality. Doing everything is no substitute for doing some things with excellence.

You would not want a surgeon or an accountant or an airline pilot who is in the habit of multitasking. You would want someone who gives their care, focus, and full attention to the task at hand.

Choose a good and promising path. Then follow that path, step by diligent step, with a continuing commitment to excellence.

Rather than an endless list of hollow activities, engage in a a well-curated procession of meaningful experiences. Live selectively, and live with purpose, with quality, with excellence.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 24

Elevated perspective

Keep the little things little. Pay attention to the details, but don’t let those small matters grab your emotions and run away with them.

It’s easy to expand a small disappointment into a dark cloud that lingers over your awareness. Fortunately, it’s just as easy to elevate your perspective.

When a disruption or disappointment pops up, quickly create some distance from it. Envision yourself suddenly flying up to a thousand feet, or fifteen thousand, and consider the view from there.

From an elevated perspective, you can see much more than whatever is frustrating you. You can see the full extent of your resources, positive possibilities, hopes, dreams, and best expectations.

Rather than obsessing over a momentary thorn in your side, remind yourself of your most treasured values. Find fresh energy and enthusiasm to help you keep the small disappointments in their place.

Refuse to be deterred from all the good you can do. From an elevated perspective, focus your efforts on supporting and advancing what truly means the most.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 25

Perfection and common sense

Just because something is flawed doesn’t mean it is useless. It’s fine to aim for perfection but it’s foolish to reject everything else.

Some compromises are worth making. Some shortcomings it’s best to find a way to live with, at least for a while.

When the perfect option is not available, see if you can make another option work. A rocky, slippery path is better than no path at all.

The same concept applies even more so when it comes to people. No person in your life is going to be perfect all the time, but that doesn’t mean you must alienate yourself from everyone.

A momentary lapse is no reason to punish anyone, including yourself, for all time. A little forgiveness and understanding can go a long way for everyone involved.

Live with the highest of standards, but don’t let those standards prevent you from living. Seek excellence and even perfection, but be careful not to throw out common sense in the process.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 26

Across all of time

Look back, look ahead, and act now. Understand where you came from and how you got here, choose where you wish to go, and proceed.

Learn from what has already happened to you and to others. Let your thoughts of the past give you inspiration, appreciation, caution, wisdom, and insight.

Then consider your intentions, your dreams, hopes, and goals for the future. Seek to understand how all you’ve learned and experienced can connect you with all you wish to experience.

You reside right now within a powerful nexus between past and future. What you do today can lead to fulfillment of the potential that’s always been building in you.

Your opportunity in this moment is not merely of this moment. That opportunity encompasses all that has come before, what is yet to come, and what is right now in front of you.

Impress upon yourself that the significance of what you do now is not just now, but is spread across all of time. Then, with respect, humility, appreciation and the highest expectations, give your very best to the moment.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 27

You can do your best

What can you do about all that’s going on in life? You can do your best.

How can you make a difference when so many people don’t seem to care? You can do your best.

You can’t control how others act, or change the weather, or reduce the price of food and fuel. Yet you can do your best at those things you are able to do, and that’s something.

Most of the biggest challenges are composed of lots of little challenges. And there are lots of little challenges you can do something positive about.

When you have the urge to do something, to make a difference, here’s what you can do. You can do your best, where you are, with what you have and what you know.

Making the world a better place does not call for some grandiose, complicated scheme. It’s mainly a matter, day in and day out, of choosing to do your best.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 28

Good to everyone

Kindness toward others is kindness toward yourself. Patience with others gives rise to more patience with yourself.

There’s nothing particularly selfish about acting in your own self interest. Because in order to truly do so you must also further the interests of others.

Even when you create value solely for yourself, the benefits of your good work extend far beyond you. When you act with love, creativity, and goodness, that goodness cannot be contained.

In the very same way any time you create value for others, you too are a beneficiary. No matter where your good intentions and actions are directed, they reflect back on you.

Your sincere generosity raises the energy level of all life. So do beauty, understanding, appreciation, wisdom, gratitude and more.

Never pass up the opportunity to act with goodness, no matter its direction. Be good to you, and good to everyone else.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 29

Truth above opinion

Your opinions can be highly useful. They can also be very dangerous.

Opinions help you to make sense of the world. Yet they can also blind you to important realities.

A strong opinion could prevent you from seeing what is otherwise perfectly obvious. It could also cause you to think you see what is actually not even there.

How do you benefit from your opinions without being deprived or deceived by them? Make sure your sense of humility is at least as strong as your strongest opinion.

The willingness to admit that you could be wrong makes your opinion more valuable, not less. Because it helps to square your opinion with what’s objectively true.

Find ways for your opinions to serve you without allowing them to dominate you. Seek truth above opinion, and receive benefit from both.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 30

Enjoy life

Enjoy the full and amazing experience of life. Yes, there are plenty of difficulties in the world, but that’s no reason to make yourself miserable.

Self-imposed misery will not be of any benefit to anyone. Yet your enjoyment of life can result in value for lots of other people.

Enjoy life, and you grow more effective and purposeful in your living of it. Enjoy life, and you become more engaged, more curious, better able to make a positive difference.

Enjoy the experience of your work, enjoy the times you spend playing and relaxing. Enjoy dealing with the challenges, enjoy soaking in the pleasures.

Enjoy being who you are, and enjoy the uniqueness of each person you encounter. Enjoy the energy of the people around you, and enjoy the quiet contemplation during times of solitude.

Enjoy the wide and wonderful range of life’s experiences. Let that enjoyment help you become better able to give real value and goodness to life in return.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

May 31

Give yourself a goal

Give yourself a goal. Give yourself a deadline.

Give yourself a challenge. Give yourself a nudge.

When you’re acting with a purpose you’re acting with clarity, discipline, and effectiveness. When there has to be a way, you find a way.

Want to get more done? Give yourself more to do.

Give yourself some ambitious and realistic expectations. Give yourself the effort, discipline, passion and persistence necessary to meet those expectations.

Give yourself a clear and compelling direction. And discover for yourself just how much good you can do.

— Ralph Marston