Daily Motivator - June

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June 1

Push past despair

You are not perfect, yet you can move your world in a positive direction. Whatever happens, you can offer new positive energy to life.

You get angry, frustrated, disappointed, but you don’t have to perpetuate those negative emotions. You can transform their power into beneficial action, into determination and commitment.

As difficult and frightening as life can sometimes be, you are fully able to push past the despair. Reach deep inside, connect with what you know to be good and right, true and helpful.

Many circumstances are beyond your influence. Even so, you can be a positive force for the people and situations around you, and that’s not nothing.

Indeed, improvement in the world never comes from grand schemes or forceful decrees. It comes from people who choose, again and again, to follow their best possibilities.

You are always able to make that choice. Push past anger, past judgment, past despair, and push life in a more positive direction.

— Ralph Marston

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June 2

Build on what works

The way to change what’s wrong is not by destroying what’s right. The way to lift up those who suffer is not by cutting down those who prosper.

To change what doesn’t work, build on what does work. To create new, more widespread success, expand on existing success.

If you dwell solely on the problems, you’ll end up making those problems bigger. Look instead at what has been proven by experience to add richness to life.

Whatever you focus on, expands. Identify what improves life, what you treasure, value, appreciate, and focus on making more of that.

In your own life, in your community, in the world, there is vast potential for improvement, innovation, fulfillment. Harness that potential by building on what’s good, on what works.

Choose now to benefit from your own experience, and the hard-won experience of all who have come before you. With hope, with enthusiasm, with generosity and compassion, build on what works.

— Ralph Marston

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June 3

Put care into action

Giving your care, your attention, your respect, your love, makes life richer. Giving your time, your consideration, your effort, your presence, makes the world brighter.

The things you accumulate are sometimes necessary, often times not. The connections you make are what you will come to cherish most deeply.

You have the opportunity to go beyond merely saying or signaling that you care. Put your care into action, into commitment, where the passing of time transforms it into great value.

You are not going to save the whole world. Yet you can make a big difference in an important part of it, someone’s life, again and again.

Resist the urge to be drawn into trendy, sanctimonious, empty expressions. Invest your time and energy instead in authentic connection and care.

You can quietly, gracefully make a difference when you put your care into helpful action. Each time you do, life gets a little better for you and all those around you.

— Ralph Marston

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June 4

Beyond limitations

Don’t ignore your limitations. Understand them, learn from them, and you’ll find ways to get around them.

The force of gravity is a serious limitation when attempting to launch a rocket into orbit. Yet by precisely understanding how gravity works, scientists and engineers can build a rocket that will successfully reach outer space.

It’s tempting to just complain about your limitations, or see them as excuses for lowering your expectations. But you always have a better choice.

That choice is to learn, to understand, to innovate, to adapt. Within whatever is holding you back are very specific truths and strategies for moving forward.

Limitations abound with useful facts, some already known, others waiting to be discovered. As you learn and apply those facts, the limitations lose their power to limit you.

Look to your limitations for knowledge, strategies, and inspiration. And engage your miraculous ingenuity to get beyond whatever holds you back.

— Ralph Marston

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June 5

Into the future

You are on a journey into the future. Although you bring your past experiences and values along, you cannot bring the past itself.

You are alive in an ever-changing world. The changes make it impossible to stay where you are, or to go back where you were.

Ahead is unknown territory, and that can be a frightening prospect. Yet everything you’re now comfortable with was once unknown to you, and you’ve handled it well so far.

Tomorrow will call you to awaken in a world that’s different than today. In that world you can grow stronger, expand your skills and understanding, and discover new possibilities.

What you think, what you feel, what you do, can all be better than they were. Yes, it’s inconvenient, challenging, arduous, and yet you’ll thank yourself for rising to the opportunity.

Life moves relentlessly forward into the future. Willingly go with it, and make that future a bright and fulfilling place.

— Ralph Marston

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June 6

Imagine beyond

Imagine being able to celebrate the things you now criticize. Imagine being able to praise the things you now complain about.

Imagine letting go of your anger, and then opening your eyes to what the anger has prevented you from seeing. Imagine listening to someone you disagree with, and finding common ground.

What if your negative perceptions could transform into valuable, practical, positive insights? What if you could move past assumptions that too often have held you back?

Much, much more is possible than you now realize. Help yourself to explore and fulfill the best of those possibilities.

Expand your concept of who you are, of what you can do, of what is good and beautiful. Deepen your understanding of truth and your connection to all that is.

Imagine beyond all you’ve dared to imagine. And live in a place that exceeds your highest expectations.

— Ralph Marston

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June 7

Your current situation

Consider that maybe, just maybe, where you are is a pretty good place to be. Maybe what you have to work with, right now, is exactly what you need.

You can get where you want to go from wherever you start. And the only place to start is where you are right now.

If you want to travel to Miami, there’s no point in getting upset about currently being in Dallas instead of in Chicago. Just get on a plane, or on the road, headed to Miami, from wherever you are.

Don’t wish for a different place of origin. Focus on getting to your chosen destination.

There’s nothing to be gained by complaining about what you lack. Instead, put that energy to work making use of what you have.

Embrace the reality of your current situation, right here, right now. Then get busy working your way, step by step, to where you want to be.

— Ralph Marston

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June 8

Simply be thankful

It doesn’t take any special training, or equipment, or skill. You can simply be thankful.

You can look at the world from a more empowered, enlightened perspective. Simply be thankful.

By yourself, with others, in a brief moment, for an entire lifetime, simply be thankful. And quickly add new richness to where you are, to what you’re doing, to those you’re with.

When you’re not sure what to do, simply be thankful. You’ll soon uncover a positive path forward.

It’s not complicated, it won’t get you into any trouble. It raises your awareness, it fills you with fresh energy.

You can turn your life around, and shine a bright light on the immense abundance in which you’re always immersed. Make the simple choice, make the powerful choice, make the smart and liberating choice, to simply be thankful.

— Ralph Marston

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June 9

Grow in understanding

Understanding will never be perfect. Yet you can always move it in that direction.

Just because someone doesn’t understand you, is no reason to reject that person’s perspective. Take it upon yourself to work toward genuine improvement of understanding on both sides.

Seek to meet people where they are rather than insisting that they be where you want them to be. You have much more to gain from understanding than from alienation.

What prevents understanding is not history or status or identity or experience. What prevents understanding is the failure to communicate in a sincere and respectful way.

True, enduring, beneficial understanding can never be forced. You earn the understanding of others by working to give your understanding to them.

At a deep enough level, all people are more alike than different. Move past the differences that you’ll eventually realize are minor, and enable a rich understanding that continues to grow.

— Ralph Marston

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June 10

Respect yourself

There is much good you can do in this world. But if you don’t respect yourself, it won’t get done.

Respecting yourself does not mean being arrogant, greedy, or self-righteous. On the contrary, it means living with generosity, compassion, humility, and understanding.

You are more than a collection of automatic emotional responses. You are more than just a self-serving sluggard.

You have the capacity for intricate, complex thought, careful, measured action, deep and fruitful relationships. Value and respect all you can accomplish, by working to accomplish it.

Genuinely respect yourself, and then your respect for others will have real value. Respect the contribution you can make, enough that you actually do the work to bring it about.

Respect yourself enough to push yourself forward, and extend your respect to all others. Respect yourself, respect the opportunities you have, and lift life higher than it’s ever been.

— Ralph Marston

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June 11

Give goodness

If you focus on anger and retribution, you create more reasons for anger and retribution. Focus instead on giving goodness, and you make even more goodness possible.

If your aim is to cause harm, that will harm you too. Seek instead to give goodness, because the world you improve is the same world you live in.

You have the strength to choose what is good, what is right, what is helpful. You have the commitment, the fortitude, to follow through on those positive choices.

Give goodness, in ways that are unique, insightful, based on your experience, driven by your love. Give goodness because you know you can, because you’re able to envision life at its best.

Give goodness for the sake of goodness. Even when it’s inconvenient, especially when it’s inconvenient, give goodness.

Remind yourself often of the best of who you are. From deep within, for those with whom you share the miracle of life, give goodness.

— Ralph Marston

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June 12

Choose serenity

Let go of the tension. Allow serenity to fill your experience.

What will happen, will happen. Do not let your uncertainty about the future drain value from the present.

What you have is now, and you can live it well. What you have is now, and now you have the opportunity to make a difference.

Your frustration is a creature of your own making. You can decide that it does not have to trouble you any longer.

There is much that doesn’t make sense, that seems foolish, that feels wrong. Yet there is a whole lot more that you can love, and find peace and wholeness in experiencing.

Choose serenity, and think, feel, act from a place of peaceful confidence, a place of positive power. Choose serenity now, and give life the highest and best you have.

— Ralph Marston

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June 13

Once you are certain

Once you are certain, you stop thinking, stop questioning, stop wondering, stop exploring, stop listening. Is that a good thing?

Once you are locked into certainty, you are no longer able to engage in rich, meaningful exchange. All you’re left with is to express your certainty, which can quickly become tedious and predictable.

Once you are certain, imagination dries up, crumbles, falls away, is prevented from coming back. Is the smug satisfaction you gain from your certainty, worth all that you lose?

It’s good to be certain that there are no cars coming before you cross the highway. Yet once you’re across, it’s best to let go of that certainty, because the situation you’re so certain about, will change.

If your certainty is accurate, truthful, it can be quite helpful. But if it is mistaken, it can lead you headlong into awful places.

Question your certainties, question your assumptions, especially when they’re handed to you by someone else. Make sure that your certainty does not wall you off from the truth.

— Ralph Marston

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June 14

Adjust your tactics

Be honest with yourself. Are your thoughts, actions, perceptions, assumptions, and priorities bringing the results you desire?

If so, expand on them. If not, make some changes.

You’re absolutely capable of attaining whatever goal you choose to follow. Yet to achieve the desired output, you must provide the appropriate input.

Conditions change, and what once worked very well may no longer be effective. Be willing to recognize reality and to adjust your approach.

There’s no cause to be dismayed when you realize your current approach is not working well. Because what you have is the opportunity to find a more effective way to operate.

Today is a great time to objectively evaluate your results. Today, if necessary, you can adjust your tactics so they bring you exactly where you wish to be.

— Ralph Marston

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June 15

Good to now and later

This moment is important, and so is the rest of your life. Be good to now, and be good to later.

Don’t let your obsession with the particulars of this moment diminish your future possibilities. And don’t let your focus on the future take away from the treasures of this moment.

Instead, make those choices that are positive for now and also positive for later. It’s a valuable kind of balance that’s well worth your effort to maintain.

Yes, often you must prioritize your time, resources, thoughts, and activities. Yet you can find ways to do so without compromising your current or future possibilities.

If you live only for the moment, there’s nothing to sustain you when the moment is over. If you live only for the future, you miss out on all the beautiful moments along the way.

You’re fortunate enough to realize that now is where you are and the future is where you’ll be. And you’re skillful enough to give value and fulfillment to both.

— Ralph Marston