Daily Motivator - March

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March 14

Habit of discipline

You can make a difference. You can do it with discipline.

In the short term you’re able to endure actions or situations that are less than desirable for the purpose of creating highly desirable gains in the long term. That’s discipline, and it can be leveraged to an almost infinite degree.

Whatever you seek to achieve, create, or experience, discipline can get you there. The real, enduring power of discipline comes when you make it into a habit.

Once you do that, what originally seemed like a big, burdensome sacrifice becomes an expected part of your life, and not so bad after all. As you experience more and more benefits from your habit of discipline, that further motivates you to continue it.

There’s some small sacrifice you can make today, tomorrow, the next day and the next, that will eventually lead to big rewards. In this way, you can choose again and again to invest in your future.

What areas of your life could benefit from the power of discipline? You have what it takes to make that happen.

— Ralph Marston

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March 15

Resilience

Falling down is not pleasant. It does, however, teach you how to get back up.

That’s an essential skill to have. After all, you can’t avoid all life’s misfortunes but you can position yourself to handle them with resilience.

There’s the potential for setbacks in every ambitious course of action. But those setbacks don’t have to be permanent catastrophes.

A well-developed resilience gives you the confidence to take on well-calculated risks. That gives you access to some of life’s most fulfilling rewards.

It’s important to keep safety in mind when you venture forth. But if you go to extremes to avoid all bad experiences you’ll also end up missing the good experiences.

Instead, take the knocks, the falls, the failures in stride. The more quickly and confidently you get back up, the more of life’s richness you’ll be able to know.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

March 16

Take notice

Notice what works and do more of it. Notice what doesn’t and ask yourself why.

Notice what changes and think of how to adapt. Notice what doesn’t and learn the value of being reliable.

Notice how problems can be filled with opportunity. Notice how the challenges help you to grow.

Notice how truth always comes to the surface. Notice as kindness improves any situation.

Notice beauty that increases the more you look. Notice there’s always something you never noticed before.

Take notice of what’s here, of what could be, of what matters, of what you can do to add value to it all. Notice life in all its expressions, and do your best to live it well.

— Ralph Marston

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March 17

Being more patient

Patience costs nothing yet it can change everything. Patience will add power throughout your life.

You gain nothing when you seek to jump ahead of the moment. Instead, give your activities and experiences the time and attention they deserve.

Patience lets you see things you would have otherwise missed. Patience enables you to communicate clearly, accurately, in rich detail.

Patience strengthens relationships. Patience leads you toward wisdom and deep understanding.

Rather than merely skimming the surface, with patience you can experience great richness in the full story. Calm anxiety, increase intention and reduce carelessness, with patience.

Remind yourself often that you can be more patient. There’s much to be gained when you do.

— Ralph Marston

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March 18

Activate your power

There are plenty of powerful outside forces that affect your life. But that doesn’t mean you are powerless.

You have the power to select your thoughts. You have the power to translate those thoughts into effective action.

You have the power to choose your attitude. You have the power to direct your attention toward what is important and away from what isn’t.

What does it take to engage the full force of your own considerable power, and to keep it up? It’s a matter of pointing yourself toward a meaningful enough purpose.

Admit to yourself who and what you truly love. Build an understanding of the things you care so much about that you’re unwilling to compromise them in any way.

Based on authentic purpose, set your intentions. And activate your power to bring those intentions to life.

— Ralph Marston

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March 19

What will other people think?

Do you want to think more creatively? Then stop thinking so much about what other people would think.

The most compelling creative ideas will resonate deeply with some people, and they will offend other people. It’s pretty much impossible to have one without the other.

Your best choice is to base your creativity on what is true, useful, and authentic to you. Let others shoulder full responsibility for what it means to them.

What will other people think? They will think what they think, regardless of how much or how little you anticipate it or try to influence it.

Boldly express who you are, how you feel, what you believe. Offer sincere value, and allow it to be accepted as it will be accepted.

Put your focus on creating according to your highest and best impulses. Confidently know that it’s okay for everyone else to make of it what they will.

— Ralph Marston

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March 20

Nexus of life and beauty

Where and in what way can you create beauty today? Pick one corner of life and make it beautiful.

There is no limit to what beauty consists of. A well-organized shelf, a restored photograph, a heartfelt letter to a friend, all can be beautiful.

Beauty can exist in anything, but the essential test of the beauty you create is this. Are you putting time, effort, focus, and something of yourself into it?

If so, then you are creating beauty. Because you’re extending your own unique beauty outward.

Other people may like it or not, understand it and agree with its expression or not. Nonetheless, the beauty you honestly create has value because of your work to bring it into being.

Beauty is meaningless without life and life is terribly dreary without beauty. Seek to be a nexus of life and beauty, giving new value, and positive purpose, to both.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

March 21

Embrace reality

Events don’t always unfold the way you expect. But just because you didn’t expect to be in a particular situation does not make that situation any less compelling.

Life will not always bend to your desires. Yet just because you don’t like what’s happened is not a reason to deny that it happened.

The way forward begins with and depends upon acceptance. Live right now according to the actual reality of right now.

Waiting for things to get back in line with your desires and expectations is a waste of precious time. This is your day to live, and you owe it to yourself to extract maximum benefit from every moment.

Rather than lament what you could have done if life had been different, focus in on what you now can do. Respond to disappointment with the transformative power of your own actions.

Acknowledge, accept, and embrace reality. That will illuminate a whole new set of opportunities for progress and fulfillment.

— Ralph Marston

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March 22

Decide exactly

Give yourself a specific, meaningful task. Give yourself a compelling reason to put forth effort and a readily accessible object for that effort.

Good intentions that are vague have no value, no ability to get you moving. Make your intentions clear, detailed, and relevant to your immediate situation.

When you know exactly what to do there’s an excellent chance you’ll do it. Capitalize on the fact that you’re goal-oriented by nature, and provide yourself with a precise goal.

Give sufficient thought to your choice of intention, but don’t get lost in that thought. Once you’ve identified an appropriate course of action, begin to take that action.

If for some reason your intention isn’t the best idea, by putting it into action you’ll find out soon enough. When, on the other hand, it is a good idea, you’ll be well on your way to making it happen.

You’re skilled at making a difference, so put that skill to use. Decide exactly what to achieve, and give yourself the great experience of getting it done.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

March 23

Where value can be added

In a troubling situation, ask yourself the following question. What can I do that would enable me to be thankful for this?

Ask yourself that question, then listen to the thoughts that start popping into your mind. You’ll be moving toward a positive, effective response rather than a panicked and harmful one.

The trouble itself is bad enough. Don’t make it worse with fear, panic, and overreaction.

When troubling situations arise, there’s a natural tendency to want to do something. That’s all well and good, as long as you’re careful not to do something that exacerbates the problem.

Poor conditions do not have to lead to poor judgment. Choose to focus on the potential value, on genuine good that can be done, and improve the quality of your response.

You can do much better than a hasty reaction in panic mode. Have the presence of mind to look for where value can be added, and do what you can to make that happen.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

March 24

Continuing value

The past is over but it still has meaning. Because you’re always carrying value from the past into the present.

It’s impossible to live in the past. Yet all around you are treasures the past continues to deliver to you.

The language that gives meaning to these very words was developed over long periods of time in the past. The device on which you’re reading them, and the networks over which they’re delivered, grew from a more recent past.

Pretty much everything you know about is old news, because it has already happened. As eager as you might be to discover what’s next, take care not to abandon the value of all that has been.

Much of that value, even from centuries ago, can continue to benefit you as you speed into the future. Just because some particular truth is old does not make it irrelevant.

Indeed, some of the most relevant things are the ones that have survived the longest. Keep that in mind as you continue to inhabit the rich and potent frontier between the past and the future.

— Ralph Marston

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March 25

Value of the journey

Be eager to make the difficult journeys. Because each journey always gives value to its destination.

If you arrive without any effort, how can you appreciate the place where you’ve arrived? How will you recognize the value of where you are if you have not borne the cost of getting there?

There’s a reason why children are eager to do things for themselves even when they don’t have to. They understand the irreplaceable value of the journey.

Pleasure, ease, and convenience have their place. Yet a life of fulfillment requires more.

When you’ve climbed a mountain, the view is much more meaningful than if you had merely been whisked to the top. Every step of the journey adds richness to the destination.

You deserve more than merely being where you want to be. Give yourself the great adventure of working your way there.

— Ralph Marston

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March 26

Beneath the surface

Appearance matters. What matters even more is the substance upon which the appearance is based.

The way you say what you say is important. Of much greater importance is the truth in what you say.

Pay attention to how things look, to how your ideas come across. Pay more attention and put the bulk of your energy into the quality and integrity of your thoughts and ideas.

Be sure to get the finishing touches right. Be even more diligent about getting the underlying facts, and work, and structure right.

What most people see is what’s on the surface. Yet what determines your quality of life is the amount of truth and goodness that exist beneath the surface.

Offer a good and appealing face to the world. And behind that face, fill your life with depth, with substance, with understanding.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

March 27

Time to live well

Invest in the happiness of others and you won’t have to struggle to find your own happiness. Don’t hold too tightly to your possessions, your plans, your opinions, your feelings.

Find joy in letting go of what has been. Discover new richness in allowing the goodness of what can be.

Remind yourself often to appreciate and explore the miraculous nature of your existence, of all existence. Let the beauty that is manifest illuminate and inspire you toward the far greater beauty that is possible.

Indulge yourself in kindness toward all those who can benefit from it, including you. Allow the healing power of love to find expression in your actions.

Carry peaceful confidence wherever you go and leave rowdy arrogance behind. Make a positive difference when you can, and graciously accept when you can’t.

This is your time to live well. Do what you know is your best.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

March 28

New consequences

You can’t go back in time and erase your past mistakes. But you can go forward and make sure you don’t repeat them.

Although regret is painful, that pain has a useful, positive purpose. It’s a constant reminder that your choices have very real consequences.

Today you have the opportunity to stop tomorrow’s regrets before they happen. Today you can line up future consequences in your favor.

Yes, you made some regrettable choices and you’re living with the results of those choices. Yet you’re now in position to reap some value from your mistakes.

Decide to transform the lingering pain of regret into a fresh sense of determination. After all, you’re paying the price for your past mistakes so you might as well claim their benefits.

Whatever regrets were born in your past, let them guide you now to a more positive future. New consequences are coming, so do all you can to make them the best.

— Ralph Marston