Daily Motivation

• Ladychipper 22,689 Posts

  Sat, Apr 30 2022 8:56 AM

  Saturday, April 30, 2022

  Live for you and yours

  Did you hear the latest? Are you up to date on everything that happened five minutes ago?

  Or, did you instead take a thoughtful and peaceful walk in the woods? Have you reached out and re-connected with a good friend from long ago?

  It’s very easy to spend large chunks of each day obsessing over the endless stream of headlines, tweets and videos. Yes, it keeps you constantly in the know, but at the end of the day that doesn’t get you much.

  It’s helpful to be aware of what’s going on in the world. Yet what matters much more is the living of your life, in the moment, where you are, with richness and meaning.

  The celebrity scandal of the hour might be somewhat interesting. But spending time with a good book written 150 years ago can profoundly improve your life.

  Your attention has massive, irreplaceable value, and it makes a great difference where you direct it. Choose to direct it so as to live for you and for all those who truly matter to you.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 22,689 Posts

  Mon, May 2 2022 8:10 AM

  Monday, May 2, 2022

  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

• Ladychipper 22,689 Posts

  Tue, May 3 2022 7:40 AM

  Tuesday, May 3, 2022

  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

• Ladychipper 22,689 Posts

  Wed, May 4 2022 11:01 AM

  Wednesday, May 4, 2022

  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

• Ladychipper 22,689 Posts

  Thu, May 5 2022 8:06 AM

  Thursday, May 5, 2022

  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

• Ladychipper 22,689 Posts

  Fri, May 6 2022 8:02 AM

  Friday, May 6, 2022

  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

• Ladychipper 22,689 Posts

  Mon, May 9 2022 8:13 AM

  Monday, May 9, 2022

  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

• Ladychipper 22,689 Posts

  Tue, May 10 2022 6:41 AM

  Tuesday, May 10, 2022

  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

• Ladychipper 22,689 Posts

  Wed, May 11 2022 11:28 AM

  Wednesday, May 11, 2022

  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

• Ladychipper 22,689 Posts

  Thu, May 12 2022 8:27 AM

  Thursday, May 12, 2022

  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