Daily Motivator - October

[bluidkiti]

October 15

Cherish the opportunities

When you’re interested, you’re effective. You find a way.

When you’re invested, you get results. You know the details, and you figure out how to best make use of them.

The value of opportunity is not in the mere concept of opportunity, not in simply calling it by name. Opportunity yields its value only when it is specific and embodied, when you jump in and do the work it demands.

Scrutinize the territory at ground level, inch by inch. Get intimately involved in the challenges, the trade-offs, discovering what works and what doesn’t.

An opportunity that’s handed to you isn’t going to do you any good. The opportunities that bring real richness are the ones you forge your way into and through.

Cherish the opportunities enough to give them the discipline, persistence, fascination, and creativity they deserve. That’s what turns them into treasure.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 16

You’ve got this

Don’t get angry. Get to work.

Don’t let frustration cause you to throw in the towel. Plow your energy into efforts that have proven to make a difference, and expand on them.

When time is running out and problems are piling up, take a calm and confident breath. You’ve got this, you’re capable, and now is when you can put all your skills to good use.

It’s natural to feel overwhelmed. Yet you can transform that feeling into determination, and action, and success.

Remind yourself that you’ve got this. Then set about to prove yourself right with your attitude and your behavior.

It’s something you’ve done before, and something you can continue right now. Know that you’ve got this, act on that knowledge, and experience the great results you’re able to produce.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 17

Whatever the outcome

Work to create your desired outcomes. Commit to those outcomes, focus on the specific efforts they demand, and persist in those efforts.

But stop short of allowing your outcomes to define you. Though your efforts and their effects add much value to life, they are not the essence of who you are.

If you fail to achieve an intended result, it’s not the end of the world. It’s an opportunity to learn, to adjust, to gain wisdom and determination.

Whenever you’ve been disappointed by yourself, by others, or by circumstances, the sun will rise the next day. Rise with it, and set about taking care of what’s important.

You won’t get all the outcomes you set out to get. Yet with persistence and a clear sense of purpose, you’ll achieve more than enough.

Don’t let misfortune stop you, and don’t let success stop you either. Whatever the outcome, keep going, and keep working to bring new beauty, meaning, and fulfillment to life.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 18

Embrace your feelings

Welcome the way you feel, for there is authentic life in your feeling. Treasure the feelings as they change from one day to the next, in this situation and that.

Rather than hiding from your feelings or casting judgment on them, experience them. Let them instruct you, prepare you, and draw you deeper into the reality of existence.

Feel the warm sun, the cold wind, the pleasure, the pain, the satisfaction and disappointment. Allow each feeling to come in its time, to go when it is done, to be replaced with another.

What you are feeling now is adding to the richness of who you are. In due time, another feeling is sure to bring even more insight, wisdom, awareness, and experience.

Some feelings you seek to have more of, and others you’d rather avoid. Yet each one that arises gives you the opportunity to be your best, most genuine, creative, effective self.

That’s always an opportunity worth living to the fullest. Embrace your feelings, accept their gifts, rise to their challenges, and harvest the richness they all can bring.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 19

A little bit of headway

Slow progress is better than no progress. Take heart in whatever gains you’ve made, and keep going.

There’s a big difference between going slow and stopping completely. Even if you’re making just a little bit of headway, that’s preferable to being at a standstill or falling behind.

You cannot do everything, yet you can do something. Just because you’re unable to move as fast as you would like, that’s no reason to give up.

Go right ahead at whatever pace you can sustain. The small gains add up, and bit by bit, put you ahead.

It’s natural to feel overwhelmed by the immensity of the effort in front of you. Yet even then, you can choose one thing and start to work on it, then the next, and soon you’re getting great things done.

Move swiftly when circumstances allow, and when things are not so ideal, move at whatever pace you can. You’ll get through it, you’ll get good work accomplished, and you’ll also be stronger and wiser for the experience.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 20

Focus and curiosity

Use your curiosity to gather knowledge and experiences. Employ your focus to weave together, expand upon, and make purposeful sense of what curiosity brings to your awareness.

Setting curiosity aside for a while to achieve better focus does not mean you’re renouncing your curiosity. You’re actually using focus to make good use of what your curiosity has presented to you.

A similar dynamic is at work when you let go of your focus in order to indulge your curiosity. You’re not permanently abandoning focus, but instead you’re finding new and compelling subjects to focus upon.

Focus and curiosity benefit when you appreciate the contributions of both. The ideal strategy is to keep them in balance.

Keep that in mind when you’re tempted to break away from what you’re focused on and run toward some new discovery. Resist the temptation, knowing that your curiosity will still be there after the work is completed, when you can pursue it free of any guilt.

Get your focus and your curiosity working in cooperation, with respect and consideration for each other. That is always a powerful combination.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 21

Loaded goals

A loaded goal is a goal that means something to you, that connects to a deep purpose. An empty goal is a goal that sounds good but that you’re not really connected to or invested in.

Empty goals are nothing more than wishes and momentary impulses. Loaded goals are the ones you’ll do whatever is necessary to reach.

When your reasons to take action outweigh your excuses for staying put, you’ll find yourself moving forward. When your yearning for success is more powerful than the desire to stay within your comfort zone, you’ll make that success happen.

If you’re hesitant to take action, the reward is not meaningful enough. Connect authentic purpose to your goals, and you’ll find ways to achieve those goals.

Get completely clear about why, and enable yourself to figure out how. Let go of the need to need, embrace the power of purpose, and transform your time and energy into goodness and value.

Set goals that are loaded with meaning, with purpose, with love and great potential for fulfillment. Raise yourself and your world to higher and higher levels of living as you work to bring those loaded goals to life.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 22

Act right away

As soon as you make a decision, begin to put that decision into action. Lock in your commitment by immediately investing yourself in it.

At the moment you decide on a course of action, your purpose is clear and your enthusiasm is high. Tap into that clarity and energy right away, before they have a chance to fade.

The sooner you begin, the more quickly you establish momentum. The less time you waste, the more time you have for making a difference.

Rather than idly wondering how to proceed, begin to experiment with what works and what doesn’t. Instead of being afraid to make a mistake, look forward to learning from your mistakes and improving your efforts.

You’ve chosen to move forward, so don’t contaminate that choice with excuses and procrastination. Honor your choice by acting on it with sharp focus and high expectations.

Once you’ve decided, there’s much you can do, and no reason for delay. Act right away, get going quickly, and keep going strong.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 23

Minor inconvenience

Your troubles seem big and ugly whenever they arrive. But nearly every one ends up being a minor inconvenience in the context of your whole life.

Storms will rage around you and can sometimes destroy much of what you’ve built. Yet nothing outside you can take away the truth, goodness and integrity with which you live.

Consider what would happen if you declared your biggest problem today to be a minor inconvenience. Though you would not be trivializing it, you would gain great power over it, and over your own attitude.

Provide yourself with some reasonable perspective. And in place of feeling overwhelmed you suddenly feel empowered.

Life is often arbitrary and not particularly fair. Yet you can respond to its ups and downs with creativity, innovation, purpose and determination.

By so doing you regularly transform what would otherwise be major disruptions into minor inconveniences. Right now you likely have the opportunity to do that once again.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 24

Treasures remain

Various circumstances and experiences come and go. Yet the treasures you gain in living through them remain with you always.

Every day is your chance to accumulate more such treasures. With each encounter and experience you can add lasting richness to your life.

Though the moments and even the memories fade, that richness remains. And on top of it you can add even more.

As such, your days, your hours, and your choices all carry great consequence. For they are loaded with potential treasures.

Each bit of life has value not only when you live it, but long afterward. Remind yourself to give every moment the respect, consideration, love, and care it deserves.

Right now there are new treasures you can bring into your life that will stay with you always. Imagine what they can be, and act to make them real.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 25

Fruitful connections

To the degree you’re trying to impress someone else, you won’t. Certainly people can be genuinely impressed by various things you do, but no one is really impressed by attempts to appear impressive.

Rather than striving to impress, seek to connect. Interact in ways that are authentic, meaningful, interesting and beneficial to the other person, and to you as well.

That often comes from talking less and listening more. It comes from direct questions and honest answers.

To forge a successful connection, avoid making too many assumptions. Accept that the other person’s perspective may very well differ significantly from yours.

Your goal is not to change anyone else, but to identify common ground and build a productive interaction on it. Proceed with respect and with a sincere desire to bring about new value for everyone concerned.

No one will be impressed by how impressive you hold yourself out to be. Yet there’s a world full of people who are eager to join you in real, honest, and fruitful connections.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 26

Let life be good

Let life be good today. The quality of what you experience is greatly influenced by the way you expect your experience to be.

So expect goodness, offer kindness, and make gratitude your default position. Be eager to tolerate, reluctant to condemn, and mindful of the best possibilities.

Challenge yourself to see the beauty that might otherwise be hidden. Allow even the ordinary moments to fill you with a sense of wonder.

Consider that the problems are so evident because they are so unusual. Recognize that every difficulty offers even greater opportunity.

Your perspective is a powerful filter through which you interpret and experience everything. And your perspective is yours to control.

So choose to see every moment in a way that’s beneficial and fulfilling for you, and for the world around you. Do all of life a big favor, and let it be good today.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 27

Appreciating the limitations

When the possibilities are unlimited, when you can do anything, too often you do nothing. You become so overwhelmed with all the choices that it seems impossible to choose.

When some particular option is free and easy to access, it’s also easy to take for granted, no matter how valuable it may be. You can easily do it anytime, which means you can always do it later, and so you never end up doing it.

Limitations are difficult to live with, yet they do serve a positive purpose. They provide structure, and can force you to focus on what’s valuable, meaningful, and achievable.

If you have a one-week vacation planned, you’re likely to maximize the experience of every day. Contrast that to having six months off from work, when there’s a good chance you’ll be aimless and unfocused on many of those days.

Diamonds are expensive because they’re extremely difficult to find and to extract. In the same way, the options that are more difficult to exercise are the ones most likely to bring great value.

Rather than wishing for a life without limitations, find value in the structure and focus that limitations provide. By understanding and appreciating what you can’t do, you gain more meaningful rewards from what you can do.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 28

Rely on yourself

Whatever you intend to do, the world will push back in ways you cannot fully anticipate. Things go wrong, and it’s essential for you to figure out how to right them again.

No, that’s not possible every single time. But in most cases you have options, provided you’re well enough prepared.

That means equipping yourself with discipline and fortitude. That means a willingness to be tough, not in a spiteful or malevolent way, but in a way that enables you to move forward.

Those qualities are not just empty platitudes. They serve to advance your own life, the lives of those around you, and everything you care about.

It’s wonderful when you can collaborate and cooperate with others, making contributions and receiving benefits from a larger community. Yet in order to do so, at the end of the day you must be able to rely on yourself.

Embrace the opportunities to strengthen and improve yourself, from your inner constitution to your outer fitness. The best thing you can do for all of life is to continue getting better at living your own.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

October 29

Work of true richness

Your life deserves to be more than just a series of empty transactions. Give meaning to the minutes, hours, months and years.

Your interactions are too important to be mediated by people, systems, and devices that don’t care about them. Make the effort to connect often, in person, in depth, over long stretches of time.

Life’s richness does not come from the trophies or artifacts you accumulate. It comes from your participation in the creation of beauty, value, and positive experience.

When you have the choice between doing anything quickly and doing it well, do it well. When convenience is in one direction and enrichment in the other, go with enrichment.

Almost all regrets are for missed opportunities. And every opportunity requires an investment of your time, effort, resources, attention, and love.

Do the difficult work of true richness. It’s what you long to do in your own authentic way, and what your life is for.

— Ralph Marston