Daily Motivator - September
 

September 1

Get it done now

Now is when you can avoid falling further behind. Now is when you can act to get out in front of your life.

It will take just as much effort to do it later as it will take to do it now. So go ahead and get it done, now.

The closer you get to the deadline, the more you’ll be weighed down with anxiety. Now, while you can calmly focus without being frantic, take action, be effective.

If you’d like to relax and enjoy yourself, great. Get the work done now, and then you can truly relax, knowing it’s all finished.

Work yourself to a place where you can feel the satisfaction of being well out ahead of whatever you must do. Rather than waiting until later, get it done now.

Decide to live on your own terms instead of being under a quickly approaching deadline. Take action, take control, get it done, now.

— Ralph Marston

September 2

Fresh new possibilities

A new world comes to light each morning. A new life is born in every moment.

With the dawning of a new day, disappointments are transformed into positive determination, then eventually into new beauty. What were once mistakes take on new life as valuable experiences.

Life is a process of continuing renewal. As you move forward through time, you encounter new possibilities for more fully expressing the unique beauty that lives in your heart.

What has come before may have been very good, or not so good. What comes now can always be much better and even more meaningful.

Lovingly embrace the fresh new possibilities that are now coming to life. Treasure the best of what has been, and carry that treasure forward as you create new richness.

Open yourself to the new opportunity that comes with each breath you take. Be more fully alive than ever before.

— Ralph Marston

September 3

Deep tranquility

Breathe in slowly, deeply, then calmly let it out. As you do, relax your life down to its core.

Feel warm, soft release as tension melts gently away. Experience deep tranquility as you focus on the beauty of right now.

Take the opportunity to remember who you are. In this moment, bring your dreams close enough to touch, to admire, to energize you.

Keep breathing slowly, deeply, gently. Although your concerns are all real, none of them have to compromise the peaceful, inner you.

Now, here, experience the positive power that is always with you. Renew your understanding of how you can harness that power to do good.

Linger a while in this state of serene empowerment. Then step forward into the world, and transform it with your love.

-Ralph S. Marston

September 4

Going your way

Today you are able to reason, to act, to make a difference. Today, life is going your way.

Take stock of your situation, and decide on your best choice in this moment. Act on that choice, and move quickly ahead.

Your life matters much more than the excuses, more than the frustrations, pain and inconvenience. With your ability to contribute to all of life, you can rise above each challenge and move the world forward.

Whatever else is happening, life is going your way. Because you can do something about it, do something with it, do something for it.

When the temptations arise to be resentful, judgmental or discouraged, remind yourself that life is going your way. Fill your awareness with enthusiasm for all the good you can do.

You are here on this unique day, able to chart a positive course, and life is going your way. Give your very best to make the most of your opportunity.

— Ralph Marston

September 5

Life is good

Life is not always easy, but then you’ve never needed it to be easy. Because you are strong, and willing to grow stronger.

You know the good things demand work. And you’re always willing to do that work.

You’ve learned to take the troubles seriously while being able to laugh about them too. You’ve found that joy is possible in every moment, and multiplies when shared.

You do what you have to do, when it must be done. And you feel the incomparable satisfaction of knowing you’re always helping to push life along.

Most of all, you give until it hurts, then you give and give some more. And when occasionally you turn around to look back, you’re amazed at how much progress you’ve made.

Life is good, because you are eager to accept it as it comes. Life is good, because every day you renew your commitment to make it so.

— Ralph Marston

September 6

Choose happiness

You cannot be happy if you are chasing happiness. Stop merely pursuing happiness and you can start actually living it.

Go ahead and allow yourself to be happy now, where you are, as you are. Allow happiness, independent of circumstance, unlimited by time.

Don’t insist on exercising control over your happiness, turning it on here, turning it off there. Surrender yourself to happiness, in all places, for all time.

Allow happiness, and allow it to be bigger than you. Be encompassed by happiness, carried along in its never-ending positive perspective.

Life will always have its difficult and unfortunate times and occurrences. Even in such times, you can allow happiness to empower you.

For happiness is not a result, but a choice of how to move forward. Choose happiness, and let your life be an expression of your highest vision.

— Ralph Marston

September 7

Channel your passion

You have the chance to make a big difference today. Make the best use of that opportunity by letting go of battles that are already over.

Don’t waste your energy blaming yourself and don’t waste your time blaming others. Just get going and do what you can do now.

Wishing that things had been different or complaining about the way events unfolded, will not change anything now. What will change life for the better is your commitment to move positively forward.

Today presents its own unique opportunities. Focus on what you can do with them, not on where they came from.

Transform regret, resentment, anger, and disappointment into determination and inspiration. Channel your passion into positive action.

Respond to the past by giving your best in the present. And create a future that is filled with goodness and real value.

— Ralph Marston

September 8

Space for enjoyment

Make a generous amount of space in your life for enjoyment of your life. The more you enjoy life, the more you have to give to it.

Fulfill your responsibilities, honor your obligations to others. And make sure to also give plenty of good enjoyable living to yourself.

When you enjoy the world, you become highly effective at making good things happen. That’s a whole lot better than being tense, frustrated, worried or angry.

Enjoy the moment, the situation, the work, the play. Sincerely enjoy, and freely spread that joy to all those around you.

You owe it to yourself to experience enjoyment. You owe it to all those with whom you come in contact.

Open yourself, allow yourself to enjoy. With a perspective regularly refreshed by enjoyment, there is much good you can do.

— Ralph Marston

September 9

Yes you can

Yes you can live this day in accordance with your most treasured values. Yes you can create an intention and then do the work to fulfill that intention.

Yes you can overcome the obstacles. Yes you can successfully deal with the challenges.

Yes you can make real progress in the direction of your dreams. Yes you can focus on getting good, effective work done.

Yes you can find satisfaction and fulfillment in every step along the way. Yes you can add something positive to the life of every person you encounter.

Yes you can persevere through the disappointments and emerge even stronger than before. Yes you can meet your highest expectations and then raise those expectations.

Yes you can get past your fears, build a positive future, live with integrity and prosper in a world that often does not seem to care. Yes you can, if you will.

— Ralph Marston

September 10

Keep complacency away

Complacency wins by doing nothing. If you’re not actively supporting a meaningful purpose, you’re growing complacent.

You gain power, control, resources by accepting the situation as it is in the moment. But don’t let your acceptance become complacence.

Value fades when it is not utilized, built upon, and expanded. Yesterday’s victories will be worthless tomorrow if you don’t continue the effort.

By very definition, life is a dynamic experience, and standing still is not an option. Either you move ahead or you fall behind.

Any time you feel complacency begin to engulf you, reach deep inside. Connect with those things that make you determined to make a difference.

Let your purpose, your determination, your desires, dreams and passions keep complacency away. Make the most of the progress you’ve already made by keeping it going.

-Ralph S. Marston

September 11

When the task is draining you

If you resent the work, you won’t do it very well, and besides, your resentment gains you nothing. What’s the point of that?

If you avoid the work, you make it more difficult when you eventually have to do it. That’s not such a great plan.

When you do the work halfheartedly, you’re using up your time but wasting an opportunity. Instead, put full attention and enthusiasm into it, and seize the opportunity to excel at it.

When you feel like the task is draining you, it’s not the task that’s doing the draining. It’s your attitude.

Improve your attitude, and you immediately improve the way you feel about what you’re doing. Improve your attitude, and the work flows much more smoothly.

No matter what you’re doing, you might as well do it in a positive frame of mind. It’s your time, it’s your work, it’s your life experience, so make the choice to make it your best.

— Ralph Marston

September 12

Opportunity to improve

You’re never too far behind to improve. You’re never too far ahead to improve.

Whatever you’re doing, you can do it more effectively. You can make your efforts more compelling, more appropriate, more profitable, more timely.

See every setback as an opportunity to improve. Consider every achievement an opportunity to improve.

But don’t wait to be prompted. Use every situation, every experience as a chance to improve.

Learn from what went wrong and from what went right, and apply what you learn. Look for opportunities that were missed, for techniques that worked, and transform experience into improvement.

Every new day is a chance to be better than you were the day before, so rise to the challenge. Facilitate your own continuing process of improvement, and enjoy discovering how far you can go.

— Ralph Marston

September 13

Positive questions

Your mind is built to seek answers. Just by asking a question, you engage your mental resources in finding an answer, or several good answers.

As such, it is important to ask yourself positive questions. Because positive questions produce positive answers.

Don’t focus your questions around why things are so bad or what’s wrong with the world or what’s the matter with you. Instead, ask yourself what the opportunities are, what things can you do better, and how you can make the most of the moment you’re in.

In every question is a presumption and an expectation of what kind of answer you’ll get. Make it a habit to ask questions of yourself that presume and expect a positive answer.

The person you listen to most, and trust the most, is you. The questions you ask yourself have a powerful influence on the direction of your focus, your actions, your outcomes.

What can you do to feel great about the possibilities of this day? How will you begin to bring the best of those possibilities to life, right now?

— Ralph Marston

September 14

Respond from the heart

Your ego is always ready to pounce on whatever comes your way and react to it. But you know there’s a better way.

Rather than reacting with your ego, you choose to respond with your heart and mind. Instead of being consumed with petty, superficial acts, you make your actions smart, helpful, considerate.

You’ve learned that your ego can drain your energy, waste your time and poison your relationships. So you go deeper, listening to and acting in accordance with your true self.

Though ego can be enticing in the moment, you’ve seen again and again how much regret it produces. Now, you know better than to give in to ego’s enticements.

As you increasingly tune out the noisy ranting of your ego, you discover more deep and awesome value in your authentic self. And that gives great power and purpose to all you do.

Now, you’re strong enough, thoughtful enough to respond from the heart. Now, you’re able to leave ego behind and to create a more positive future ahead.

— Ralph Marston

September 15

Empowering choices

When you’re in a position to complain about anything, you’re also in a position to do something positive about it. And that’s a whole lot more effective than complaining.

If you have a good reason to be angry, you also have a good reason to point the energy of that anger in a positive direction. By doing so, you’ll create new value for all concerned.

Whenever something is frustrating you, you’re highly motivated to find a way to move beyond it. Harness the energy of that frustration to improve the situation or to grow yourself beyond it.

Any time you experience disappointment, you’ve learned a valuable lesson. From there you can go forward, and make that disappointment into a positive turning point.

Every day, life comes your way, and it’s difficult to predict or control exactly what lands on your doorstep. Yet no matter what you get, you always have the choice of what to do with it.

You’ve made great, empowering choices in the past and you can continue to do so, day after day. With thankfulness in your heart, keep going on the positive path you’ve chosen.

— Ralph Marston

September 16

Putting it all to use

Today is your chance to do what you can, when you can, with what you have. Even the most difficult, complicated achievements come to life by completing one step at a time.

You’re smart enough to accept that whatever you’re doing will require some time and effort. Now is your opportunity to invest that time, to make that effort.

You already know the challenges will require persistence and diligence. And you’ve already discovered you have what it takes to keep going.

There’s always something you can do. And even if the going gets slow, you go ahead, because it’s a whole lot better than falling behind.

With every effort, new options open up to you. With every moment, the momentum grows stronger.

You have purpose, desire, integrity, ability and a love of making good things happen. On this day filled with unique possibility, enjoy putting it all to use.

— Ralph Marston

September 17

Opportunity to love

See it not as a chance to criticize. See it as an opportunity to be patient, an opportunity to love.

See it not as a disagreement. See it as insight into the other person’s perspective.

Get your ego out of the picture and amazing things happen. You don’t have to waste energy being offended, angry, or resentful.

Though you have every right to be frustrated, you have every reason to let it go. Though you are justified in feeling sorry for yourself, that is never your best option.

Focusing on yourself attracts stress. Loving others, loving life and its miraculous beauty, enables peace.

Every encounter, every situation, every moment is an opportunity to love. See the opportunity, take it and live it, now.

-Ralph S. Marston

September 18

Filled with promise

Do the work to think for yourself. If you don’t think for yourself, life is nothing more than a stream of meaningless sensations.

Take full responsibility for the integrity of your life. It is everything, as your experience has shown you again and again.

Life is not easy. But oh, how good it can be when you do what is necessary to put real substance into it.

Give, give, give of yourself, authentically, generously, with enthusiasm, respect, joy. Listen, learn, watch, participate.

Commit to your highest vision, putting action and persistence behind that commitment. Remind yourself to live as though every moment matters, for indeed every moment does.

Do you realize how beautiful and filled with promise this day is? Once you do, nothing will be able to hold you back.

— Ralph Marston

September 19

What’s at stake

Any moment you spend in negativity is a waste of life. Choose always to find a better way to spend your time.

It’s not difficult or complicated to live every day with meaning and purpose, with effectiveness and integrity. It’s mostly a matter of making the choice to do so, and following through.

You are capable of greatness, expressed in your own special way. Harness that capability, let all the world benefit from it.

You understand, observe, feel, think in ways no one else has ever done. You owe it to life, to the very universe that supports your existence, to make the most of all that.

Remind yourself of what’s at stake in every choice you make. What’s at stake is the quality of your life, the future of your world.

Put good thought, care, effort and commitment into your choices, into your life. Everything you love and value is at stake.

— Ralph Marston

September 20

Beneficial response

You have a right to be angry, and good cause to be angry. Yet that doesn’t mean anger is your best choice.

Raw anger gets your attention, wakes you up to troubling realities. However, you’re going to need more than raw anger to successfully respond to those realities.

There is great energy in anger. As soon as you feel that energy, make it your intention to point it toward a beneficial response.

Almost nobody cares that your feelings are hurt, that you’re offended, that you’ve been wronged. What will make just about everyone care is when you make a positive difference in their lives.

So let that be your response, let that be the way you redirect the energy of anger. Harness the passion and apply it in ways that make life better.

Let anger do its job to get your attention and to get you motivated. Then, do your job to make something positive and valuable out of it.

— Ralph Marston

September 21

Leave a little goodness

Wherever you go, leave a little bit of goodness there. Whatever you undertake, do it in a way that’s beneficial to life.

Giving goodness does not reduce the amount you have. In fact, giving a little goodness enables you to give a lot more.

Feel the good feeling of knowing you’re making a difference. Let go of any concern about being praised or recognized, and just give goodness for the sake of goodness.

Make life less of a struggle and more of the miracle it can be. Enjoy the goodness as you freely let it flow out from you.

Life can be extremely difficult and challenging, but it doesn’t have to be void of meaning or joy. Goodness is possible, available to give, in any situation.

The goodness you offer and enable, fills your life with meaning. Make it your intention every day, every place, to spread that goodness far and wide.

— Ralph Marston

September 22

Unresolved problems

Yes, there are unresolved problems and issues, and yes, it’s good to work on them. But don’t postpone your life because of them.

Just because something is holding up your progress doesn’t mean it has to hold up your life. Live, enjoy, go forward with ambition, with confidence, with the highest expectations.

If you wait until everything is perfect, you’ll wait forever. Stop waiting, let go of the tension, and live your life, finding unique joy in each experience.

Not everything is going to be resolved by the end of the day, of the month, of the year. Be okay with that, and live life to the fullest anyway.

The time you have right now can only be put to use right now. Even though circumstances are not perfect, there is a lot of good you can get done.

Deal with those issues you can deal with. And let yourself live with everything else.

— Ralph Marston

September 23

Rich in life

Look at yourself today, and see how much stronger you’ve grown. Consider all the value that has accumulated in your life.

What once blocked your path now forms the path. What previously was weakness, you’ve transformed into strength.

Through every experience you’ve added skill, wisdom, new perspective. Each moment of life has deepened your love, clarified your purpose.

Time, trouble, joy, challenge, frustration, curiosity, caring, boredom and excitement have all deposited value that’s now yours. Imagine the good things you can now do with what you now have.

Imagine, without limit, without guilt or fear or worry. Imagine, then put that imagination into action.

Today you are rich in life, more than ever before. Live the richness, express the richness, share it, delight in it and make good use that creates much, much more.

— Ralph Marston

September 24

Get out of your own way

Did someone hurt your feelings? Get over it and get on with life.

Are you trying to get people to feel sorry for you? Even if you get what you want, you won’t have anything of value.

Are you putting time and energy into being offended? Do you understand what an extreme waste of your life that is?

Don’t make life more difficult than it has to be. Rise above the need to fret about what others say or do or think or feel.

Choose to be a positive influence, no matter how the people around you are being. Decide to live by the highest standards, free of the need to judge the standards of others.

Let go of any desire to be seen as a victim, and replace it with the drive to make a difference. Get out of your own way, and do all the great things you are meant to do.

-Ralph S. Marston

September 25

Purpose is strong

Now your purpose is strong. Now you have the power, the will, to do something about what you care most about.

You sail right on past the interruptions, never losing focus. A clear sense of what you must do, of what you choose to do, makes you immune to the distractions.

Every moment matters, and your choices, your actions reflect that truth. There is great value to be created, meaningful experience to be lived, and you embrace each opportunity to do so.

You act with confidence, knowing that what you do is good, is right, and makes a positive difference in life beyond you. You persist, free of resentment, empowered by the highest expectations.

Today has arrived with its unique challenges and possibilities. And you are here to live it fully, with a purpose that is strong and an intention to be your best.

You’ve allowed that purpose to fill your awareness. As it energizes your thoughts and actions, you discover again and again how much good you can get done.

— Ralph Marston

September 26

Take the next step

Now is the moment to take the next step. Go ahead and take it.

Whatever has happened before, whatever may or may not be up ahead, the important thing now is what you do with now. So now, take the next step.

Though your choices are limited, you do have a choice. You can choose to make the most of this moment, by taking the next step.

By making that choice, by continuing to move forward, you expand and improve your future choices. So go ahead, now that you can, and take the next step.

Resentment, frustration, hesitation and second-guessing will do you no good. What will make a positive difference is taking the next step.

Now is when you can do what you know is best. Seize the moment, make the effort, and take the next step.

— Ralph Marston

September 27

Big picture

Step back and look at the big picture. Look at the big picture, and see all the positive possibilities life offers.

Rise above the frustrations and annoyances that always demand much more attention than they’re worth. Remind yourself that you have something unique and valuable to offer the world.

Take a moment to feel how good life can be. Commit yourself to expanding that goodness with your thoughts, words, and actions.

In a world bursting with contrived urgency, it’s all too easy to lose sight of what makes life so precious. Do yourself a favor, and give yourself some perspective.

Imagine that fifty years from now you are looking back on this day, on this time. What opportunities, what possibilities can you see from that vantage, that you might be overlooking right now?

Back away from the noise, and give attention to the beautiful substance of life. See the big picture, and let it inspire the way you live every little moment.

— Ralph Marston

September 28

Just start

A large orchard begins with a single sapling. Just start, and keep going.

A best-selling novel begins with the first sentence. Get yourself started, and keep yourself going.

It may be difficult, inconvenient, embarrassing, uncomfortable, frustrating to get started. Nevertheless, you can, and if your choice is to accomplish something, you must.

Your first effort won’t be perfect, and that’s all the more reason to make that effort right away. The more you do, the more you’ll learn, and the better you’ll get.

Put your shoes on, stand up, step forward, go out the door into the world, take action. The incomparable experience of achievement is yours to create, and this is when.

The pile of things to do will begin to shrink and the rewards you can claim will begin to increase. Just start, keep going, and fulfill that great potential you know is in you.

— Ralph Marston

September 29

Feel life

Take every opportunity to feel life. Feel life, without judgment or expectation, worry or agenda.

Feel grains of sand as they pass beneath your feet. Feel warmth as the deep red glow of sunrise first touches the morning.

Feel your own presence as it joins with the presence of others. Feel the thrill and freshness of thinking thoughts you have never thought before.

Feel joy and sadness as they each serve to balance the other. Feel the satisfaction of strenuous effort and the relaxation of well-deserved rest.

Feel the power of determination when the situation must be changed. Feel the confidence that comes from seeing yourself make a positive difference.

Feel love as it directs you in ways you cannot understand. Feel the entirety of life itself as its rich mystery continues to unfold in every moment, all around you.

— Ralph Marston

September 30

The power to care

You have powerful tools, resources, skills at your disposal. Remind yourself, challenge yourself to use them for good, meaningful, life-affirming and life-improving purposes.

You have life, time, awareness, and good sense. Do yourself and all the world a big favor, and make great use of all you have.

The world is often distracting and discouraging, and will tempt you to stray from what really matters. Yet you can rise above that temptation, and make a substantive difference in every day.

You have the power to care. You have the ability to follow through on that care, to support, to encourage, to build and achieve.

Life arises each morning and takes on the distinct characteristics of the people who are living it that day. Your attitude and your actions make life what it is, and within that truth is magnificent opportunity.

Exercise fully your power to care, to work for the goodness you know is possible. Give your care, your effort, your love, and push life in its best direction.

— Ralph Marston