Daily Motivator - June
 

June 1

Fulfillment in the process

Don’t spend the whole effort wishing you were finished. Give your work the time and focus it deserves.

Remind yourself how fortunate you are to be able to have an impact. Welcome the opportunity to create new value, to make a difference.

Although the particular task you’re working on may not be glamorous or trendy, it does matter, it has value. It is certainly worthy of your respect and attention.

Don’t treat it like something you’re just squeezing in between other activities. Give the work you’re doing, whatever it may be, your best thoughts, your diligence, your concentration.

You’ll be finished soon enough. Until then, be fully present with what you’re doing.

Find fulfillment in the process, in the endeavor, in the focus and respect with which you work. You’re adding value to life, so embrace the experience and give it your best.

— Ralph Marston

June 2

Positive footprints

You cannot go backwards in time to undo what’s already been done. So before you go forward, consider the consequences of your actions.

You won’t be able to reclaim time that has already passed. As each moment comes, remind yourself to make good and meaningful use of it.

Regret is a terribly helpless feeling because there’s no way to change what you have already done. Keep that in mind as you make each choice.

Once you utter a thoughtless comment, it will forever be a part of what you have said. All the apologies and regrets in the world will not change that.

You can only move forward through time. As you do, take care to leave positive, beneficial footprints at every point along the way.

Make your choices the ones you’ll be pleased to live with. Speak and act to make your future self, and everyone else, thankful for all you do.

— Ralph Marston

June 3

Put goodness into action

Do you wish other people were more kind, generous, understanding, and tolerant? Then encourage them to be with your own actions and attitude.

No one can force genuine goodness in others. But anyone can be an example of the power of generosity, the benefits of tolerance and understanding.

Are you disenchanted with life, feeling that the world has become cruel and corrupt beyond measure? Then prove to yourself and to others how good life can be by the way you live it.

The potential for goodness still is very much alive. It lives in you and in all the other people like you.

Put into action, in your own life, the goodness you wish to see in the world. Not only can your offering of kindness improve your own outlook, it will inspire even more kindness in others.

Goodness is a choice available for each person to make in each moment. Choose what’s right, what’s good, in matters large and small, and by so doing you encourage others to choose goodness as well.

— Ralph Marston

June 4

Generous to tomorrow

Do something with each moment that endures beyond the moment. Utilize this day to create value that continues after the day is over.

Push yourself to do more than simply fill time with empty, fleeting sensations. Every hour you waste is an opportunity you’ll never have again.

Be so thankful for the time you have that you’re eager to make good use of it. That is how life’s richness is built.

Making meaningful use of each moment does not prevent you from enjoying those moments as they pass. Indeed, it deepens and extends that joy.

This day will soon end, yet its treasure can continue indefinitely. You have the option, right now, to make that happen.

Put right now to good, thoughtful, meaningful use. Be generous to tomorrow, to the next season, to the next generation, with the way you live today.

— Ralph Marston

June 5

Feeling and thought

Your anger is justified, and powerful, but not usually very practical. Your frustration is understandable, but not particularly effective.

Feel what you feel, and let the feeling connect you with authentic purpose. Then go beyond the feeling, and pursue your deeply-felt purpose with a realistic plan, with thoughts, with strategy, with action.

You have the wondrous gift of feeling, and the amazing ability to think. Make appropriate and complementary use of both.

Let your feelings inject passion into your endeavors. But stop short of allowing them to force you into foolish actions.

Use your thoughts to benefit from the power of reason and logic. Yet avoid getting so wrapped up in thought that you lose all connection to the purpose within you that exists beyond reason.

You possess, at once, the power of thought and the power of feeling. Keep those remarkable powers in balance, supporting each other, informing each other, and pushing your life in a positive direction.

— Ralph Marston

June 6

Little things matter

Going into debt for a small amount is no big deal, and that’s what makes it such a big problem. Those debts that are so small you don’t even think about them can quickly add up and overwhelm you.

Saving a little bit of money is no big deal, and that’s what makes it so powerful. It’s accessible, easy to do often, and can eventually add up to real wealth.

Little things matter because there are so very many of them. When you get the little things in your life right, the big things follow suit.

In your relationships, in your career, in your management of time, little things matter. In maintaining your car, in keeping your home clean, in your health and fitness, little things matter.

It’s great to make big plans and to dream big dreams. The way you actually achieve those dreams is by being diligent with the little things.

What small problem can you solve right now, that will prevent a lot of bigger problems later on? Tend to the little things, for they all combine together to make a big impact on your life.

— Ralph Marston

June 7

Your current situation

Consider that maybe, just maybe, where you are is a pretty good place to be. Maybe what you have to work with, right now, is exactly what you need.

You can get where you want to go from wherever you start. And the only place to start is where you are right now.

If you want to travel to Miami, there’s no point in getting upset about currently being in Dallas instead of in Chicago. Just get on a plane, or on the road, headed to Miami, from wherever you are.

Don’t wish for a different place of origin. Focus on getting to your chosen destination.

There’s nothing to be gained by complaining about what you lack. Instead, put that energy to work making use of what you have.

Embrace the reality of your current situation, right here, right now. Then get busy working your way, step by step, to where you want to be.

— Ralph Marston

June 8

Live it richly

There is darkness all around, until you open your eyes. The clearest, sunniest day has no brightness until someone observes it.

In every direction is abundance, primed to become meaningful value. In each moment, a profusion of energy and potential wait to be claimed and put to use.

Life can be magnificent, rewarding, consequential beyond description. What makes it all so, is the living of it.

Every few seconds for millions of years, waves have been rolling upon this shore. And today you are here to feel their power, to experience the beauty, to add meaning in your own special way.

You swirl constantly through a world of color, motion, sensation, and energy. Remind yourself what an epic opportunity, and responsibility, that is.

Through your life, the beauty is recognized, the energy is utilized, the magnificence has meaning. Every moment, live it richly, live it with profound gratitude, live it well.

— Ralph Marston

June 9

What to let in

Whatever happens, whatever is said, you don’t have to take it personally. You can choose what to let in and what to keep out.

The inconsiderate actions and rude comments of others do not have to bother you one little bit, if you choose. At the same time, you can care deeply about whatever you want to care about.

You can think whatever you decide to think about anything anyone says. Or you can decide not to think about it at all.

Often there will be things you must do, for social or professional reasons, that you don’t enjoy doing. Even so, you never have to let them get you down or diminish your spirit.

Deep inside, you are always the person you choose to be. You can choose to be positive, fulfilled, enthusiastic about life no matter what is happening on the outside.

Take a deep, refreshing breath and remind yourself that you’re in charge of what gets to you and what doesn’t. Then renew your commitment to embrace the best of life, and to expand it far and wide.

— Ralph Marston

June 10

Get yourself started

Whatever task you’re avoiding is not as difficult or unpleasant as you’ve imagined it to be. Do yourself a favor, and get it done.

Stop wasting all the energy and creativity you’re putting into fighting against the effort. Direct that energy into productive action.

You have the power to get yourself started. You have the power to immediately jump beyond your reluctance, your doubts, your excuses.

You control your mind, and your mind directs your efforts. Decide right now to put that power to good use.

No matter what you do or what you neglect to do, the time in this day will pass quickly. Choose to fill that time with worthwhile effort.

Push yourself into a productive, effective, action-oriented state. Get yourself started, get the work done, and make this a day of satisfaction and achievement.

— Ralph Marston

June 11

Give yourself

Give yourself dreams, goals, and plans you can look forward to. Give yourself challenges that will energize you.

Give yourself some confidence in your own perspective and abilities. Give yourself the time and patience to get things right.

Give yourself a short break when you grow weary. Then give yourself a solid push to get back to work.

Give yourself the discipline to get difficult jobs accomplished. Give yourself the persistence to continue with your efforts.

Give yourself the support and respect that come from taking good care of your health and well being. Give yourself laughter, passion, and joy.

Give yourself the irreplaceable fulfillment of giving to others. Give yourself a life overflowing in every part with purpose, meaning, and love.

— Ralph Marston

June 12

Present moment

No matter how young or how old, no one has any more than the present moment you have right now. Whether wealthy, impoverished, famous, or obscure, every person has the same number of hours in this day.

Now is what you have, and it is more than enough. Today is the day you have, and with it you can add greatly to life.

Let go of every impulse to wish for more. Set yourself free to actually live for more.

The past was what it was, and now it is gone. Focus all the energy and resources of now, on the good things you can do with now.

Now is the time you can make a difference. This is the place where the next part of your life unfolds.

Stop wishing, stop waiting, stop doubting, blaming and delaying. Now is your time to live, with richness, with purpose, with zest, and with love.

— Ralph Marston

June 13

Intentional control

Life can be difficult, no matter how you live it. Don’t make it a hundred times more difficult by living irresponsibly.

Exercise positive, intentional control of your life. Otherwise you’ll be tossed around by random events and frivolous impulses.

Decide precisely who you want to be, where you want to go, what you want to experience. Then focus your energy on making it all happen.

Give yourself the benefit of a plan, for the day, for the month, for the decade. Experience all the great benefits of harnessing your time, energy, and activity for meaningful purpose.

You can do so much more than merely getting by. You can make progress, and then make more progress.

Show yourself how much you value yourself and the life you have. Live it in each moment, in every situation, with discipline and positive purpose.

— Ralph Marston

June 14

Just keep going

Don’t let failure get you down. Don’t let success go to your head.

Learn from what happened, be thankful for the experience. And just keep going.

Listen politely to the criticism, consider it carefully, and just keep going. Graciously acknowledge the praise, then let it go, and just keep going.

Find pleasure in the good times, gain strength during the hard times. And just keep going.

When you’ve done what you set out to do, select a new goal, and just keep going. When you have trouble making any progress at all, remember the reason why, and just keep going.

You can succeed, you can prevail, no matter what does or does not happen. Just keep going.

— Ralph Marston

June 15

Wondrous possibilities

Silently, steadily, relentlessly, this planet spins round and round. Night becomes day, winter melts into spring, again and again without fail.

Unimaginable is the sum of energy necessary to make it all happen. Yet here it is, continuing on and on as an everyday experience.

To know the wonder of this existence, even for a single day, is to be fortunate beyond calculation. The power, the beauty, the spectacle, the potential, all stretch out from you in every direction.

Think for a moment about what you’re choosing to do with it all. Are you making the most of the wondrous possibilities in which you’re constantly immersed?

Sometimes it’s easy to forget how good you have it. Sometimes life’s disruptions, big and small, can make it seem that things are not so good at all.

Yet here you are, alive, aware, and connected to the wondrous possibilities. Realize what that all means, and use it to make some new wonder, right now.

— Ralph Marston