Daily Motivation

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Fri, Oct 14 2022 9:12 AM

  Friday, October 14, 2022

  Choose now

  If you wait until the last minute, that minute is going to be highly stressful. You’ll be rushed, pressed for time, and not anywhere near as effective as you could have been earlier.

  Is there anything you’ve been putting off until the last minute? Do yourself a favor and get it done long before you have to get it done.

  Yes, there are plenty of other things you’d rather be doing. But think about how much more you’ll enjoy the fun, desirable activities when the tedious but necessary chores are all finished.

  Choose the undesirable task long before you get to the point where you have no choice. Put yourself in control of your time while you are still able to do so.

  By choosing when and where to do what’s unpleasant, you can take much of the sting out of it. By getting it done early, you give yourself more time to be free of it.

  Choose now, assert your intention, empower yourself, and get it done. Rather than putting it off, do it now, and claim all the benefits of that timely, responsible choice.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Wed, Oct 19 2022 9:08 AM

  Wednesday, October 19, 2022

  Time in silence

  In silence you can think complete thoughts. In silence you can focus your awareness without being interrupted.

  Silence enables you to strengthen your connection to what’s most meaningful. Silence provides fertile ground for discovery, contemplation, and insight.

  Life is filled with harmony, cacophony, and individual sounds of every kind. Much of what you know and feel about the world comes to you from sound.

  Yet as essential and enlightening as those sounds are, you can extend their value by regularly stepping away from them. In peaceful silence, you have space to absorb, integrate, and deepen the meaning of what you’ve heard, and seen, and experienced.

  Silence challenges you to confront yourself, to touch the truth of who you are and what you care about. As unsettling as that can be, it ultimately makes you stronger, more purposeful, more resilient.

  Every sound you hear consumes your attention. Spend time in silence, giving your attention a chance to restore itself, your spirit some room for reflection and renewal.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Thu, Oct 20 2022 8:34 AM

  Thursday, October 20, 2022

  Clearer picture

  Step back from what you think about it and feel about it. Look carefully and more clearly at the reality of what is.

  Your mind is powerful and highly useful, and that’s mostly a good thing. Yet your thoughts have so much influence that they can distort your perceptions.

  For example, your thoughts can convince you that the whole world is in a hopeless mess. Yet at the same time the reality of your situation can be just fine, and normal, even pleasant.

  It’s not a good idea to ignore your thoughts. It is smart, however, to keep in mind that your thoughts and feelings have an influence on everything you experience.

  You can never be completely objective, and would not want to be. What you can do is remind yourself that your perspective is not the only valid perspective.

  If it were not for your thoughts about things, how would things be? Balance involvement with detachment, and get a clearer picture.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Fri, Oct 21 2022 9:11 AM

  Friday, October 21, 2022

  Accept who you are

  Envision a person who loves you for who you are. Then be that person.

  Think of how it would be to have someone who accepts your flaws, forgives your missteps, understands your quirks. You can do all that for yourself.

  Certainly you’d like to improve various aspects of your life and your behavior. But that doesn’t mean you have to reject or condemn the way you already are.

  While you’re working on doing better, accept where you are. With that acceptance you encourage and empower yourself to move forward.

  As a significant added benefit, you learn to be more accepting of others. Love who you are, and that love is available for giving to those you care about.

  Accept who you are, where you are, how you are. Free yourself to be your best.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Sat, Oct 22 2022 9:04 AM

  Saturday, October 22, 2022

  Letting problems be

  Why do people regularly ignore problems and expect they’ll go away? Because they do go away, not every time of course but often enough to be noticeable.

  Is it a good idea to ignore a problem? That depends on the problem.

  Many problems can be effectively solved by decisive action. And then there are problems that will be made even worse by focusing on them and attempting to remedy them.

  Just because you can fix a problem doesn’t mean it’s the best use of your time and resources. Just because you want to fix a problem doesn’t mean you’ll make things better.

  It’s great to work on resolving difficult problems and to create meaningful benefits by doing so. It’s not so great to look under every rock in a quest to continually use your problem-solving skills.

  Be more effective at dealing with problems by being selective and intentional about which problems to tackle. Add more richness and fulfillment to life by simply letting some of the problems be.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Tue, Oct 25 2022 8:47 AM

  Tuesday, October 25, 2022

  Goodness

  You don’t have to be rich to be generous. You do have to be generous to be truly rich.

  You don’t have to have an elaborate support system to be focused and disciplined, or responsible, or honest. You can choose those enriching values, and many others, regardless of your background or current situation.

  The good fortune of one person does not reduce the potential for anyone else’s good fortune. Indeed, prosperity, thriving, and genuine excellence all lead to much more of the same.

  What primarily makes life good is not what you start with or what others do or say or have. The purposes and values with which you choose to live are the main drivers of the way your life unfolds.

  Economic, political, environmental, cultural circumstances all have an influence on your experience of life. Yet more consequential than those things are your intentions and choices, day after day, year upon year.

  Keep on choosing what’s true, what’s good, what has lasting value, what has meaning beyond the moment. Keep on creating new and authentic goodness for yourself and your world.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Wed, Oct 26 2022 11:58 AM

  Wednesday, October 26, 2022

  Life audit

  Publicly traded companies must undergo regular audits of their operations to protect the interests of shareholders. Those audits are designed to reduce waste and deception, and to uncover opportunities for increased effectiveness and efficiency.

  Every now and then, it’s a good idea to audit your own personal operations in a similar way. After all, you can sometimes benefit from a detailed examination of the way you live your life.

  Are there things you’re doing that cost you time and resources, but don’t provide any value or enjoyment? It’s all too easy to settle into useless habits, and it’s a helpful exercise to routinely rid yourself of them.

  Are there assumptions you’ve been depending upon that are no longer true, or perhaps never were? By abandoning those assumptions you can elevate your thinking to a new level of clarity.

  Can you identify useless grudges you’ve been holding or important tasks you’ve been putting off? How about opportunities you’ve ignored or treasured relationships you’ve been taking for granted?

  Spend a little time giving your life a mental audit, identifying what’s working, what’s not, and what you can do to improve. Find those opportunities you’ve been hiding in plain sight and make good use of all you discover.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Thu, Oct 27 2022 11:21 AM

  Thursday, October 27, 2022

  Affirmative mode

  Think of how you can center more of your time and awareness around what’s good in your life. Seek to direct more thoughts and energy toward all you love and treasure.

  Let past joyful moments continue to resonate through your life long after they happen. Enhance the present with your commitment to working toward positive experiences for yourself and others.

  Choose thoughts, habits, and activities that get you living life in the affirmative mode. Accept and deal with reality as it is, and then work to bend that reality in beneficial ways.

  An orientation toward victimhood, excuses, and complaints can poison your awareness and impair your efforts. Instead, continue to point your thoughts toward improvement, achievement, understanding, and positive purpose.

  What you carry in your head and in your heart has great influence on the way your life unfolds. Make the decision, day after day, to embed the best thoughts and expectations within yourself.

  Position yourself to create the most rewarding outcomes. Go through life in the affirmative mode.

   

  — Ralph Marston

   

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Mon, Oct 31 2022 8:31 AM

  Monday, October 31, 2022

  Love and courage

  Don’t be reckless, but don’t cower in fear either. Be careful, yet not so careful that you fail to live your life.

  The world has always been filled with danger and it will continue to be. You’re smart enough and capable enough to navigate the dangers and still enjoy great fulfillment.

  Some risks are foolish and others are well worth taking. Get clear about what you intend, and you’ll learn as you go what risks are appropriate for you.

  Recognize your fears and pay attention to what they tell you. At the same time, don’t allow fear to immobilize you.

  The courage to act in the face of fear is well within your reach. Summon that courage by reminding yourself of what you must do to support and nurture all you love and care about.

  With purpose and intention, you can handle the fear. And with love and courage, live your life.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Wed, Nov 2 2022 10:46 AM

  Wednesday, November 2, 2022

  Adventure into life

  Something deep inside you longs for adventure. And for anything to be an adventure it must be challenging.

  Adventure happens when you choose to confront the unknown. It could be a journey to a place you’ve never been, an activity you’ve never before undertaken, or a thousand other things.

  The point of adventure is to better understand yourself and the universe in which you live. Adventure widens your perspective and compels you to become more capable and competent.

  And though the adventure itself might seem self indulgent, its benefits have the power to extend far beyond you. At its best, adventure provides you with more substance and value that you can offer others in countless ways.

  It is no accident that those who contribute most to life are often the most adventurous. Perhaps that’s why the desire for adventure is so deeply ingrained.

  Fortunately, whatever your situation, there are plenty of opportunities for adventure. See if you can find a way to answer the longing, and add new value to life, by undertaking your own adventure.

   

  — Ralph Marston