Daily Motivation

• Ladychipper 22,686 Posts

  Thu, Mar 23 2023 1:07 PM

  Thursday, March 23, 2023

  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

• Ladychipper 22,686 Posts

  Fri, Mar 24 2023 11:11 AM

  Friday, March 24, 2023

  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

• Ladychipper 22,686 Posts

  Sat, Mar 25 2023 8:59 AM

  Saturday, March 25, 2023

  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

• Ladychipper 22,686 Posts

  Mon, Mar 27 2023 8:28 AM

  Monday, March 27, 2023

  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

• Ladychipper 22,686 Posts

  Tue, Mar 28 2023 9:15 AM

  Tuesday, March 28, 2023

  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

• Ladychipper 22,686 Posts

  Wed, Mar 29 2023 11:39 AM

  Wednesday, March 29, 2023

  Meaningful use of time

  You cannot create more hours in the day or more days in the year. Yet you can always make more meaningful use of the time you have.

  That does not mean cramming every part of the day full of busyness and activity. It means prioritizing all you do, with the highest priority on what matters most.

  Can you identify activities in your life that consume time yet provide negligible value to anyone, including you? Would it really be so difficult to give less time to them?

  Time can be a highly valuable resource or it can be a wasted resource. It all depends on whether or not the time you spend adds to the richness of life.

  Every minute you invest in one direction is a minute you’ve chosen not to invest in all the other possible directions. Make sure your choice benefits life while acknowledging the value and potential of life.

  What is meaningful to you? Whoever or whatever that may be, the most impactful way to give your support is with your time.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 22,686 Posts

  Thu, Mar 30 2023 8:51 AM

  Thursday, March 30, 2023

  Who you think you are

  Think of yourself in terms of your greatest potential, your highest values, your most effective skills. Then take the actions consistent with the person you think you are.

  You know you have standards that you’ve failed to meet. Ask yourself what you can do to improve that situation, and act on your answers.

  You’ve thought for a long time about what you could do to make life better. Begin now to put more of those thoughts into practice.

  Seek to bridge the gap between the best of who you think you are, the best of who you imagine you could be, and the reality of your day to day behavior. Find and follow opportunities to live your life in accordance with your vision.

  There is a caring, thoughtful, creative, competent, effective person inside you. Let that person see more of the light of day and let all of life benefit from the good you can do.

  In the challenge of living out your highest expectations your own unique greatness comes to the surface. Make it your business every day to enable that to happen.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 22,686 Posts

  Fri, Mar 31 2023 1:14 PM

  Friday, March 31, 2023

  Positive feedback loop

  You determine what you think, say, and do. Those things you think, say, and do, in turn, shape you, who you are, how you live.

  It is a self-reinforcing trajectory, a positive feedback loop. What’s important to consider is, which way is it headed?

  What specific positive feedback loop are you creating and enabling in your life? How well does it line up with your deepest desires and your most treasured values?

  Your experience of life feeds upon your choices, and your choices feed upon your experience. Because of this, the smallest change can become magnified to exert profound influence.

  Your smallest thoughts, your most trivial actions matter. Whether they’re harmful or beneficial, you’re giving life and sustenance to them, exponentially expanding their consequences.

  Live every moment in a way you’d like to see amplified. Because in many aspects it will be.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 22,686 Posts

  Sat, Apr 1 2023 11:07 AM

  Saturday, April 1, 2023

  The best place to be

  You are not where you think you should be. You are where you are.

  But what if those two situations were the same? What if you could accept that your current reality exactly matches your current ideal?

  In that case, all your resentment would be replaced with gratitude. The energy of your disappointment would be transformed into the energy of determination.

  You would not feel stuck, would not feel hindered by your circumstances. Instead, you’d feel energized to improve upon those circumstances, to envision and follow an ambitious pathway to fulfillment.

  You would not waste time wondering where you went wrong. You would be able to see all sorts of opportunities for moving forward.

  The fact is, this is the place where you actually are, the only place from which you can now make progress. Perhaps it’s best to simply allow yourself to do just that.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 22,686 Posts

  Mon, Apr 3 2023 8:40 AM

  Monday, April 3, 2023

  Experience that you can

  Start what you’re a little bit afraid to do, and follow it through to completion. Discover a reservoir of strength you never knew you had.

  Then move on to another activity that brings a little more trepidation. Work your way through it and feel the reality of heightened and authentic confidence you’ve just created.

  It’s easy to tell yourself you can’t do something. It’s a whole lot more powerful to experience that you can.

  The easy things to do are also easy to forget. The difficult, challenging, somewhat frightening experiences become stories you carry and treasure and share for life.

  Do you want a day you’ll forget about tomorrow? Or would you rather create meaningful substance that will endure for years?

  Remind yourself that yes, you can. Then prove to yourself that it’s true.

   

  — Ralph Marston