Daily Motivation

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Fri, Dec 22 2023 12:00 PM

  Friday, December 22, 2023

  Who do you imitate?

  Much of what you do comes from the influence and examples of others. Ask yourself, who are those others?

  Who are the people whose desires, habits, values and perspectives you respect and seek to emulate? Even more significantly, how well have those people done in living lives of quality and fulfillment?

  When so much of the information you consume comes from anonymous sources, do you even have a good grasp on all the people you’re imitating? It’s all too easy to be inspired by glittery images pouring out from people whose lives you know nothing about.

  What appears compelling on the surface often has little depth. When seeking someone to follow, to look up to and admire, to guide your actions, it’s in your best interest to know that person as deeply as possible.

  That takes time and effort, thought and commitment. Many other people have many great perspectives, but there also exist a whole lot of false promises.

  From time to time it’s good to consider, who do you imitate and why? Pay particular attention to the why, and find your way to those who can influence you in the most positive and fulfilling manner.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Tue, Dec 26 2023 8:18 AM

  Tuesday, December 26, 2023

  Life moves forward

  New experience gives added value to old experience, and vice versa. Treasure them both in their own ways.

  What you learn is always built on what you know. That’s good to consider especially when the new turns out to directly contradict the old.

  In such a case, understand the old in a new light but resist the temptation to denigrate it. After all, it’s what got you where you are.

  What you now know will someday be superseded, but that doesn’t mean it’s ever useless. Life moves forward when you go with what you have, and with respect from whence you’ve come.

  At some point soon you’ll have to choose between the latest thing and the most life-affirming, enduring thing. Live your moments and deepen your perspective so you can make that choice wisely.

  You have a past and you have a future. Keep them on friendly terms with each other, and they will both be good to you now.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Wed, Dec 27 2023 12:29 PM

  Wednesday, December 27, 2023

  Think, do, learn

  Pretty much nothing unfolds in exactly the way you imagine it. You can speculate, re-consider, plan, and anticipate, yet once you start to take action, everything changes.

  Action transforms thoughts into reality. Although thought and action each have value, they are decidedly distinct creatures and cannot be substituted one for the other.

  Give thought to your actions, then give action to your thoughts. Use the results you get to improve and to better focus your subsequent thoughts and actions.

  In the initial stage of any endeavor, be prepared to, at best, stumble forward. On the next iteration you’ll do better, and even better after that.

  If you fail to win the gold medal on your first outing, or you’re twenty-fifth, you’re normal. If you let that discourage you and stop you from making the effort, you’re foolish.

  Because over time, with persistence, humility, an innovative spirit, and more persistence, you make real progress. Think, do, learn, then think, do, learn, and your tenacity with doing so will bring whatever you seek within reach.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Thu, Dec 28 2023 11:41 AM

  Thursday, December 28, 2023

  Sustained ambition

  It’s easy to be ambitious for a few minutes, and maybe even get some impressive work done in that time. What’s more challenging, and what will produce results that approach true greatness, is sustained ambition.

  If you can muster a little ambition for a little while, then you know you’re capable of it. That means you’re also capable of a steady and sustained ambition over longer periods.

  Just like momentary ambition, sustained ambition is driven by purpose, by the desire to achieve that purpose. To keep the ambition strong and influential, find a way to keep the purpose near the top of your awareness.

  When you’re clear about why, and when the why is meaningful enough, there’s no need for any further convincing. That reason why will keep you going, and you’ll continue doing whatever it takes, even when it becomes tedious, complicated, and frustrating.

  Great achievements come from great efforts, from great sacrifices over long periods of time. Make sure you have a good enough reason to do all that, and you’ll achieve the excellence of which you’re capable.

  Imagine where your own sustained and clearly purposed ambition can lead. Bring forth the reason why, keep it always in front of you, and get your most outstanding work done.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Fri, Dec 29 2023 11:36 AM

  Friday, December 29, 2023

  Opportunity for action

  Now is your opportunity to do what must be done. Make good and profitable use of that opportunity.

  The opportunity decreases every moment it is not utilized. Eventually it is gone for good.

  Before that happens, do something worthwhile with the opportunity for action. Transform the best of what can be into the reality of what is.

  You have the means and the ability right now to solve a problem, to attain a goal. You can improve or sustain life in a specific, meaningful way.

  Don’t just sit there, don’t just let the moment pass. Get up and get something good done.

  Every opportunity for action is destined to become either an achievement or a regret. Avoid the regret and claim the value by putting forth whatever effort is called for in the moment.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Mon, Jan 1 2024 8:10 AM

  Monday, January 1, 2024

  Journey around the sun

  You’ve circled around the sun once more, along with everyone else. Consider what you’ve learned, experienced, discovered, abandoned.

  Now brings a new chance to make good use of all you’ve been through. Everything that’s accrued to your unique existence, you can re-focus toward meaningful purpose.

   

  Give yourself some time to feel how you feel, to care about what you care about. Remind yourself of all that makes life actually and potentially good.

  On this waypoint in your journey, you have the power of choice over your thoughts, actions, perspectives, and priorities. That power has brought, and will continue to bring, value, beauty, richness and fulfillment to your world.

  This is a day to acknowledge what you and the good people surrounding you have accomplished, as flawed as it might be. This is a day you can be inspired to do even better as the hours and weeks and years roll steadily ahead.

  Sincerely appreciate where you’ve come from and realistically imagine where you can go. Begin today to make this new journey around the sun your best one yet.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Tue, Jan 2 2024 11:54 AM

  Tuesday, January 2, 2024

  Say yes to something

  You can’t say yes to everything. Yet you can always say yes to something.

  You wouldn’t want to cram your calendar so full that you’re in a perpetual state of haste and anxiety. But neither do you want to string empty hours upon more empty hours and days.

  It can be all too easy to hide away from life, and to cite good reasons for doing so. But just because it’s the easiest choice doesn’t make it your best choice.

  You deserve the meaningful experiences that only you can allow and enable yourself to have. Make it a point to give yourself a nourishing supply of those experiences.

  Even if it’s uncomfortable, inconvenient, a little awkward and slightly intimidating, say yes on a regular basis. Give yourself the chance to continue seeing life from the perspective of new experience.

  Many times you’re smart to say no, but don’t let that become your sole response. Give yourself the gift and the richness of saying yes to something.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Wed, Jan 3 2024 9:21 AM

  Wednesday, January 3, 2024

  Curate your activities

  Over time, harmful and pointless habits can creep into the way you live your life. When you’re able to recognize and replace them, those habits represent major opportunities for improvement.

  Make room for more good and useful activities by letting go of the useless, negative pursuits. Identify a waste of your time that you could easily do without and challenge yourself to replace it.

  Zero in on a replacement you can look forward to and get enthusiastic about. Offer yourself a genuine and desirable reward for making better use of your time, energy, and resources.

  Improve your results by improving your choices. Add richness to your life by being positive and proactive about what you do with your days.

  You have an excellent, innate understanding of what serves you best and what doesn’t. So apply that understanding, let it guide your choices and inspire your actions.

  Trade in tired, fruitless habits for energizing, enriching ones. Carefully curate your activities and optimize the value they bring to life.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Thu, Jan 4 2024 8:51 AM

  Thursday, January 4, 2024

  Intentional feelings

  Don’t allow your feelings to be mere reactions. Make them more intentional.

  Remind yourself that you can feel the way you choose to feel. Let your feelings flow from the inside out.

  Engage in the externalities of life without being overwhelmed by them. Rather than having your feelings tainted by outside events, empower your positive feelings to improve those events.

  When you maintain intentional control of your feelings you won’t have to fear those feelings. Seek to guide your feelings so they enhance your experience of life.

  You can understand and empathize with the feelings of others without being dominated by them. You’re able to fully perceive the sentiment of each moment and still be in control of the way you feel.

  Don’t let your feelings come from how you’re expected, influenced, or induced to feel. Feel the way you choose, for the reasons you choose, and proceed accordingly.

   

  — Ralph Marston

• Ladychipper 23,050 Posts

  Fri, Jan 5 2024 8:28 AM

  Friday, January 5, 2024

  Investment of this day

  Today you’ll invest time, energy, thought, and effort. You’ll use skills, experience, wisdom and insight to do so.

  Are you clear about your priorities for that significant investment? Will the benefits to your world and your life be worth the cost?

  You have an opportunity today that will never again be quite the same. Give it the respect and consideration that it deserves, that you deserve.

  This is a good time to raise your expectations a little higher. Now is your chance to make sure your focus is directed toward the things that mean the most.

  Your investment of this day can bring great new value to life. Your unique combination of knowledge, resources, and motivations has the power to make an enduring positive difference.

  Pause for a moment and refresh your appreciation for who you are, for what you can do, and for why it matters. Then step forward, confident and purposeful, with your smart and effective investment of this day.

   

  — Ralph Marston