Daily Motivator - January
 

January 1

The journey continues

Some of the days have been memorable, and others you forgot about a long time ago. Yet every experience has served to bring you where you are today.

Now is the time to continue. Now is when you can take the wisdom, the connections, the experiences and resources you’ve accumulated, and use them all to move forward.

You have the opportunity to avoid mistakes you’ve made before. You’re able to put hard-won lessons and skills to work in positive and meaningful ways.

There’s much more to see and do, to learn and discover. You can continue contributing to life in the ways you’ve always done and in new ways as well.

You’ve known challenges and triumphs and so much more. It’s all made you stronger, more purposeful, more caring toward those you share this existence with.

Now the journey continues, new possibilities await, and you’re better equipped than ever before. Step forward with confidence, with eager anticipation, and discover how far you will go.

— Ralph Marston

Happy January the 1st Tammy and Kracker, let's thank God for getting us
Through the month of December always thanking him for his grace and mercy
each and every day, one day at a time. God bless us for this joyous
New Year.

January 2

Kindness matters

You’re overwhelmed with work and your patience is wearing thin. Remember though, kindness matters.

You’re running late, in a hurry, frustrated about forces that are out of your control. Even at times like this, your kindness matters.

In every direction you turn, someone is trying to scam you, and it seems like no one cares. Yet it’s important to keep in mind, kindness matters.

Kindness matters in ways that are easy to understand and in ways you’ll never realize. Your kindness matters to those you care about, to strangers, and to you.

Every time you come within the vicinity of someone else, you have the chance to make a difference. Your kindness could be completely ignored, or it could end up being a lifesaver.

Whether it merely lifts your own spirit for a minute or eventually reverberates around the world, your kindness matters. Never pass up the opportunity to discover how much.

— Ralph Marston

AMEN. Happy New Year's to y'all. May God bless us and guide us in 2023

January 3

Push forward

Every honest effort moves you ahead, even when the progress does not appear immediately obvious. Every attempt brings you closer to the result you seek.

When the going becomes slow and difficult, keep going. Up ahead you’ll turn a corner that accelerates your progress.

If momentum is on your side and you’re getting all the good breaks, keep going. Don’t let your own complacency steal that momentum away.

When you’re in motion you’re able to choose your direction. So commit yourself to staying in motion.

Sometimes you’ll know exactly what to do next and other times you’ll struggle. Whatever the case may be, you’ll find a way to push forward.

Your next step keeps you going. Now, and always, keep taking that essential next step.

— Ralph Marston

January 4

Small choices, big impact

For any given big choice you wish to make, there exist multiple small choices that support it. Diligence in small matters serves to greatly expand your options when it comes to bigger issues.

When you always keep your word, always speak the truth, always act with respect and consideration, people will trust you. By earning and keeping the trust of others you give yourself a significant advantage in achieving what you seek to achieve.

Think of what happens if you choose to learn from every experience, no matter how seemingly insignificant. Not only do you begin to recognize patterns, you also develop an understanding of how to make valuable use of them.

The path to a particular success is often quite narrow. Yet the knowledge, skills, and habits that enable you to create success come from a wide set of experiences.

Every moment, every interaction, every small choice is an opportunity to become more positive, more purposeful, more effective. Success is a pattern, not an isolated event, and all the little things you do will build that pattern.

With each small choice you demonstrate to yourself and to the world your most authentic priorities. And those priorities largely determine the quality of life that you live.

— Ralph Marston

January 5

Today is when

In the vast entirety of forever, today will only happen once. Now is your single chance to get the most from it and more importantly, give the most to it.

Today is far from perfect. Yet as difficult and inconvenient and frustrating as it may be, you can fill it with much richness and meaningful living.

Today encompasses all that exists in the whole universe. Within its broad boundaries you’ll connect with fascinating people, powerful possibilities, unique experiences, love, beauty, and more.

Today might feel like many other days, making it easy to convince yourself you’ll get the chance to live it again. But don’t let today’s familiarity cause you to put off living it, for if you ever try to reclaim this day later it will be long gone.

Fortunately, right this minute you are alive, aware, well informed and highly motivated to live this day with the best you have. In fact, you’ve already started to do so and you can accomplish even more with every passing hour.

Today is when you are, today is when you can, today is when you will. Imagine the best and then make it happen, today.

— Ralph Marston

Yesterday is history tomorrow is a mystery,
Live you very best today and right now.

January 6

Common good

There’s more to your interest than your interest alone. What’s in the common good also very significantly includes you.

It’s tempting to think you can gain some personal advantage by gaming the various systems and institutions of society. But that is impossible because you are a part of society, a beneficiary of its institutions, and whatever harms them also harms you.

Yes, you can take more than your share from the cookie jar again and again. Yet eventually, if you keep doing it, whoever was filling that jar will stop, and there will be no more cookies.

But if everybody else is taking unfair advantage of the system, aren’t you also forced to do so in order to get an equal share? Absolutely not, because such a situation is unsustainable and it is in your best interest, in everyone’s interest, not to normalize such transgressions.

Everything has a cost and there is no such thing in material reality as something for nothing. To think and assume and live in opposition to this fundamental truth is to cheat yourself out of life’s richness and best possibilities.

The common good survives only when goodness is common and widespread. In this highly interconnected world, being good to yourself means being honest, respectful, understanding and considerate toward everyone else.

— Ralph Marston

January 7

You know you can

You know you can do better. Make use of that knowledge.

It’s not an indictment of the way you’ve lived up until now. It’s an acknowledgement of your best possibilities.

You know you can do better, so consider precisely what that would look like. Then with great enthusiasm let those thoughts inspire you into positive action.

You have a wealth of experience about what enhances life and what diminishes it. Resolve to put that valuable experience to more intentional and consistent use.

As time moves forward you have the choice to move with it in a positive direction. While each day quickly recedes into the past you can bring forth value and goodness that endure.

You’ve created much that’s good, and now you have the opportunity to do even better. See the great worth of that opportunity, and embrace it with all you have.

— Ralph Marston

January 8

Against the wind

When conditions are ideal you can make much progress. Yet even when conditions are not so favorable there are good and useful things you can do.

It’s always great to have the encouragement, support and assistance of others. But even when you have little or no help you can move forward.

You’re wise to make the best of a good situation. Yet what’s even more powerful is to make the best of a difficult situation.

Sometimes the winds of fate and circumstance are blowing your way, and that’s great. Much of the time, though, you’ll need to make your way against the wind.

Sure, you can claim the powerful headwind as an excuse, and wait for better conditions, an no one will blame you for that. Or you can go forward anyway in the direction you’ve chosen, and make progress in spite of the difficulties.

The situations, events, and people in this world will not always align to push you ahead. Fortunately, that never has to stop you.

— Ralph Marston

January 9

Grand opportunity of now

What physical possessions, thoughts, and feelings are you holding on to that are no longer useful and never again will be? Let them go, and clear out space for more value and fulfillment in your life.

Stop forcing yourself to dig through useless artifacts to get to what you need. Enable yourself to spend more time living, thriving, creating meaningful value and experiences.

Treasure, preserve, and continue to find joy in your good memories. At the same time, keep them in perspective.

Appreciate the past rather than keeping yourself continually bound to it. Carry forward what has true value and move on beyond the rest.

Don’t let the past burden your present or contaminate your future. Free yourself from the regrets, resentments, and closets full of stuff that serve only to hold you back.

Open yourself fully to the grand opportunity of now. Lighten your load and discover how much more effective and purposeful you can be.

— Ralph Marston

January 10, 2023
Get going with it

All is not totally and perfectly well, but neither is all lost and hopeless. Everything is as it is, and what’s more important, you can improve upon it.

You can be fully aware of the difficulties without being completely dismayed by them. You can remind yourself that opportunity comes embedded in every problem.

Life is not exactly how you’d like it to be. That opens you to the satisfying experience of guiding life in your chosen direction.

You have good, meaningful work to do. You have the opportunity to make a positive difference.

Experience has taught you how to be purposeful and effective. Here is your chance to once again put that experience to use.

With honesty, love, and courage, look at the reality that surrounds you. Realize how much good and fulfilling living you can do, and get going with it.

— Ralph Marston

January 11

Time for intention

Today is too valuable to waste. Today is a time for intention, focus, and meaningful progress.

Get clear about what you can do with the time that currently stretches in front of you. Get clear about the connection between the actions you’ll be taking and what you care about most.

Then, unleash your energy, your creative impulse, your skill, experience, and knowledge. Feel the power of your intention as it blossoms into achievement.

A world of possibility awaits your action. Right now, let that wait be over.

Make it your business today to fulfill your potential, and then go beyond it. Discover how much you can achieve, and how each achievement sets you up for even more.

Now is a great time to live with intention. Show yourself again and again how deeply satisfying it feels to do so.

— Ralph Marston

January 12

Reaction

Sometimes it’s good and necessary to respond. Other times it’s more appropriate to let things be.

Wisdom is knowing the difference. Strength is abiding by that wisdom.

Will your response actually contribute value? Or is the primary reason for it to prove a point?

If you’re too eager to respond, too quick to react, you can get drawn into situations where no one wins. Is that really how you wish to spend any of the priceless moments of your life?

When you can jump in and make a useful contribution, by all means do so. But when all you have to offer is an angry reaction, you’ll soon come to thank yourself for having the restraint to leave it alone.

Just because you can respond, just because you want to react, doesn’t mean it’s the best choice. Consider the actual value of what you can offer before you put it forward.

— Ralph Marston