Daily Motivation

• Ladychipper 22,684 Posts

  Sat, Jan 29 2022 7:38 AM

  Saturday, January 29, 2022

  Patience and persistence

  If you need something tomorrow your choices are starkly limited. If you desire something in ten years it can be pretty much anything you imagine.

  The most desirable results are not immediate results. The most desirable results ask for patience and persistence in return.

  Are you disappointed by the choices you have right now? Step back and consider how much better your choices would be if you were to add some patience and persistence.

  Patience gives you the serenity of knowing that good things take time. Persistence gives you the energy to continue putting forth effort until you reach your objective.

  You cannot instantly jump over to the other side of the mountain. Yet with patience and persistence you can climb up, then climb down, and arrive on the other side.

  What particular forms of goodness do you wish to add to life? With patience and persistence they are well within your reach.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 22,684 Posts

  Tue, Feb 1 2022 8:38 AM

  Tuesday, February 1, 2022

  Courage

  You are not safe. You never will be.

  Danger surrounds you all the time. There are dangers you can see, invisible dangers, obvious dangers, and dangers you’ll never know about.

  You can mitigate some of the dangers to some extent. You can take reasonable, proven, effective precautions.

  But without question the biggest danger to your experience of life is not some external threat. The biggest danger, the biggest risk comes if you are duped into thinking you can avoid all risk.

  Because by attempting to avoid every risk you miss out on the adventure of living. By seeking to save yourself from everything you end up with nothing.

  Whatever you have achieved, whatever fulfillment you have experienced, your courage has enabled you to do so. Keep living with that courage, and despite all the dangers, keep living true and well.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 22,684 Posts

  Tue, Feb 22 2022 11:29 AM

  Tuesday, February 22, 2022

  Work to achieve

  Don’t ask yourself what you want to achieve. Ask yourself what you want to work to achieve.

  It’s not enough to have the desire for a particular outcome. You must also have the desire to do whatever is necessary to create that outcome.

  It’s easy to imagine yourself enjoying the reward. It’s more challenging to envision yourself doing the difficult and tedious work necessary to earn that reward.

  Yet the people who earn the most coveted rewards not only envision the necessary work. They see it through to completion.

  Achievement often looks easy and glamorous from the outside because all you usually see is the completed job. When you’re the one doing the achieving, it’s a whole lot of work.

  So be willing to do that work. And you’ll be the one doing the achieving, which is a very good place to be.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 22,684 Posts

  Wed, Feb 23 2022 8:06 AM

  Wednesday, February 23, 2022

  You are the person

  You are the person who does the difficult thing because it is the right thing. The world moves forward because of what you do.

  You are the person who looks for ways to embrace responsibility instead of searching for places to cast blame. By doing so you transform problems into opportunities, defeat into victory.

  You are the person who seeks to understand when so many others are merely shouting empty platitudes. You are the person who cares enough to listen, who listens enough to care even more.

  It is not easy to do what you do, to be who you are. But you know that some things are more important than merely making the easiest choice.

  You are the person who does not seek praise, but who would like to know every now and then that you’re appreciated. So look around, see life being lived, and know that life itself appreciates what you do more than any one person could ever realize.

  You are the person who makes a difference whenever you have the opportunity to do so. You live as if your life matters, and it most certainly does.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 22,684 Posts

  Thu, Feb 24 2022 8:30 AM

  Thursday, February 24, 2022

  Pointing toward purpose

  Delight in dreaming about what could be. But don’t take permanent refuge in those unfulfilled dreams.

  Instead, start working your way to them, little by little. Begin to transform those dreams into your actual reality.

  Give yourself credit for everything you’ve already been able to achieve. Then point that process of achievement directly at the dreams you long to reach.

  There is great value in moving toward something positive and desirable. Even if you are not fully committed or confident, you can go through the motions, and that has value too.

  You are at your best when you are pointing toward a meaningful purpose. That purpose will bring energy, resourcefulness, and determination to the surface.

  Go ahead, imagine the future in a positive way, and take a step in the direction of that future. Discover for yourself how a positive vision for the future can improve your experience of life right now.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 22,684 Posts

  Fri, Feb 25 2022 8:06 AM

  Friday, February 25, 2022

  The first step

  Are you hesitant to take the first step because you’re worried it could be the wrong one? Most likely that first step won’t be in exactly the ideal direction, but that’s no reason to worry.

  Because it’s just the first step. You will learn from it and then be able to take a much more experienced and informed step.

  You’re not going to make a perfect start. Nonetheless, you must make a start if you’re to get anything done.

  So go ahead and get it over with. Whether it works well or whether it doesn’t, it gets you moving.

  The more you act, the more effective each action will become. Get the process started and get that upward spiral in motion.

  Make the first step as good as you can, but don’t fret that it’s not perfect. Let it get you started, and you’ll find you can handle it very well from there.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 22,684 Posts

  Mon, Feb 28 2022 9:24 AM

  Monday, February 28, 2022

  Keep working, not worrying

  The clock is ticking and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. Let it tick, and calmly continue doing what you have chosen to do.

  The deadline is approaching and you’re a long way from being finished. Confidently guide your attention back to your work, not the deadline.

  You won’t improve matters by being frantic. You will improve your effectiveness by staying focused.

  Take a deep breath, and feel a renewed faith in your capabilities. Then keep putting those capabilities to work.

  There’s a good chance you’ll get most of it done, but then again you might not finish completely. Either way, your best choice is to keep working and not to keep worrying.

  Whatever time you have, fill it with purposeful and focused activity. Be confident and respectful of time, and time will be good to you.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 22,684 Posts

  Tue, Mar 1 2022 7:16 AM

  Tuesday, March 1, 2022

  Building blocks of excellence

  Pay attention to the details. But don’t get lost in them.

  Obsessing over details can result in excellence, yet it can also result in wasted time and resources. The difference is in knowing which details matter and which details don’t.

  For a business, a real person answering the phone on the first ring is a detail that matters. The typeface used on that person’s business card is probably a detail that doesn’t.

  Planning a trip, deepening a relationship, building a business, life’s many endeavors involve lots of details. Dealing with all those details can quickly become overwhelming.

  To ease that burden, remember to ask yourself this. In the big picture, does it really matter or does it not?

  Identify the details that matter and point your energy in their direction. Apply your skills to those meaningful details that are the building blocks of excellence.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 22,684 Posts

  Wed, Mar 2 2022 11:38 AM

  Wednesday, March 2, 2022

  Achieve what you desire

  The results you get are not simply a function of what you desire. They’re a function of what your desires inspire you to do.

  On its own, without any further action, setting a goal is meaningless. For a goal to matter it must prompt you to make some change in the way you live your life.

  What do you desire, in your personal life, in your career, in your level of physical fitness? What commitment are you willing to make, what actions are you willing to take, to fulfill those desires?

  It can be fun to dream and to wish. What’s a whole lot more satisfying and a whole lot more work is to achieve what you desire.

  Fortunately, you have the power to transform dreams into reality. You can think, you can act, you can learn, adapt, and persist.

  You’re never too old, too young, too rich or too poor to set a meaningful goal and work toward it. No matter your situation, it’s always a great thing to do.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 22,684 Posts

  Thu, Mar 3 2022 11:39 AM

  Thursday, March 3, 2022

  Start sooner

  Take a moment to think back about all you’ve done in your life. You’ll discover a lot more undertakings you now wish you had started sooner, and hardly any you wish you had started later.

  What can you learn from this? Your own experience demonstrates the value of starting sooner rather than later.

  Is there something you’ve been thinking about doing, saying, learning, mastering? Now is the time to stop thinking about it and start putting it into practice.

  If it’s worth doing, it’s worth starting sooner. To get the most out of your effort and commitment, start sooner.

  But perhaps you can’t start until you’ve made sufficient preparations. Then start sooner on the preparations.

  Put as much time as possible on your side. Let go of your doubt and hesitation, and start sooner.

   

  — Ralph Marston