Daily Motivator - July

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July 1

Connect to love

Life can often leave you weary, disheartened, resentful and frustrated. When you feel that way, remind yourself that there is a better way.

Connect to all you love. Nourish, support, expand all you love.

Seek out the people, the values, the experiences, the places, the feelings, ideas, and challenges that you love. Turn your focus toward those things that energize and inspire you.

It’s easy to feel sorry for yourself when an uncaring world has beaten you down. It’s much better, though, to turn toward the aspects of life that you love.

There are exceptionally good reasons why you get up and go through each day. Keep yourself firmly connected to those reasons.

Connect to love, in whatever way you choose to feel it. You are made to love, you deserve to love, so let love be, again and again, no matter what.

— Ralph Marston

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July 2

Make your best even better

It doesn’t matter how well or how poorly you are received. What matters is that you give your best.

Your ego may not like it when you are criticized, or worse, when no one even notices you. Yet there is a part of you that can find great value in every kind of feedback.

Rather than being upset or giddy about any response you get, raise your focus to a higher level. Be curious.

The surest way to learn is to do. That’s especially true when it comes to learning how others will respond to you.

Life at its highest level is about giving of your most authentic, original self. And that’s an exercise where continual practice leads to rapid improvement.

Give your best, and see what happens. Based on that, you’ll figure out how to continue making your best even better.

— Ralph Marston

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July 3

Too much of anything

If something works well, use it, expand on it, apply it in other situations and disciplines. But don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s the answer to everything.

Too much of anything, is not a good thing. Unthinking adherence to what has proven successful, will not necessarily be successful.

A highly effective strategy for getting things done, may not work well when figuring out what to do. Techniques for creating beautiful art may have limited application when designing a production facility.

It’s easy to categorize various ideas as either good or bad. But such a simplistic approach doesn’t align with the complexities of real life.

Some ideas, some approaches, some processes are good for certain situations. Other tactics are more appropriate for other situations.

Success is a great thing to emulate and replicate. Just be careful not to blindly push it so far that it turns into failure.

— Ralph Marston

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July 4

Goodness in your wake

Everything you do is significant. Every thought you think has consequences.

Whether or not you have the intention to make a difference, you are making a difference. Whether or not you’re aware of your impact, you have an impact.

You can’t possibly manage every result that comes out of the way you live your life. Yet you can manage your attitude, your perspective, what you respect, what you value.

Do what you do, think what you think, with a commitment to truth, authenticity, and goodness. Keep your awareness in a positive, kindhearted place and leave each situation better than you found it.

The energy you broadcast to life affects your life and the world in which you live. For the sake of others, for your own sake, let it come from a good and sincere place.

Carry with you a persistent commitment to the best of life for everyone who lives it. In ways large and small, leave goodness in your wake.

— Ralph Marston

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July 5

The moment is new

Events didn’t work out the way you planned. What if that turns out to be a good thing?

You didn’t get what you wanted. Perhaps that is making room in your world for something even better.

There are a whole lot of great things in life that you don’t even know about yet. Just because one or two matters didn’t work out to your satisfaction, isn’t the end of the world.

Consign your disappointment to yesterday. Today, and tomorrow, and every day from now on, you have the chance to move far beyond it.

Life is filled with beautiful people, places, experiences, and countless other treasures. Don’t deny all that richness to yourself for any reason.

Get up, go forward, get out and live, learn, love, discover, and live some more. The moment is new and your life is ready for the best you can put into it.

— Ralph Marston

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July 6

Higher level

One disappointment does not mean your life is forever ruined. One thoughtless remark pointed in your direction doesn’t mean you are under attack.

Things go wrong and people make mistakes. Get used to it, get over it, and be kind to yourself by getting on with your life.

If you can, correct what has gone wrong and work to make sure it doesn’t happen again. But don’t let a momentary injury or affront disrupt your life for the next five hours, five months, or five years.

Amplify and expand upon your possibilities, not your grievances. Let your life be driven not by what might have gone wrong, but by your own best intentions.

You have the power to choose the direction of your focus. You have the ability to find the good in each moment, in every occurrence, and move forward with it.

See the opportunities for gratitude, forgiveness, determination, and positive action. Experience the depth of your strength while using that strength to lift your life to a higher level.

— Ralph Marston

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July 7

Get the job done

What if doing what’s hard is really not so hard? What if the main thing making it so difficult is your own resistance?

Imagine for a moment that you could just take the first step. And imagine your pleasant surprise at getting that first thing done.

Then picture yourself with some positive momentum. Think of the joy and sense of accomplishment you can be experiencing.

Suddenly you realize that all your excuses are just that, excuses. And you understand that you’re well-positioned to take action, to be effective, to get good things done.

And so that’s precisely what you do. Letting go of any judgment about what’s difficult and what’s not, you go ahead and get the job done.

You’ll wonder why you ever hesitated in the first place. And you’ll jump with great enthusiasm into whatever is next.

— Ralph Marston

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July 8

What you do with now

Is your use of time right now advancing your life in the direction you want it to go? Or is there something more purposeful, more fulfilling that you could be doing?

Once this day is over, you’ve forever lost its unique possibilities. Keep that in mind, and make sure you’re choosing the highest possibilities in every moment.

The march of time is relentless, and you can be just as relentless. Align your priorities so that time is working for you rather than against you.

Lift your awareness above the meaningless distractions. Constantly feel the gentle, yet powerful energy of knowing that you’re making a positive difference.

A week from today, you can look back and clearly see the progress you’ve made. Use this moment, this situation, this activity to ensure you’ll be looking back with the highest satisfaction.

Life happens now, and what you do with now has a very real impact on the life you experience from this day on. Do all you can to make that impact the most beneficial it can be.

— Ralph Marston

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July 9

Go it one better

Don’t make the challenge even more challenging by avoiding it. Do strengthen your ability to deal with the challenge by stepping up and dealing with the challenge.

Are you having trouble getting motivated to do that? Then add to the challenge with a challenge of your own, one that’s meaningful enough to push you into action.

You have the skills to successfully navigate through the challenges you encounter. You just have to give yourself a good enough reason to do so.

Life is largely about making a difference. Life’s challenges provide you with excellent opportunities to do that.

Challenges enable you to see firsthand exactly how much you’re capable of achieving. And every time you work your way through a challenge, your confidence grows stronger.

Life will challenge you, so go it one better and let each challenge activate the power of your purpose. Discover strength, build strength, exercise strength, and transform each challenge into achievement.

— Ralph Marston

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July 10

Treasure of human experience

Criticism of others will not gain you their willing cooperation. Genuine respect will.

Forcing your viewpoint on someone else will not result in that person agreeing with you. Seek instead to listen, to understand, to act with care and kindness, to earn and to deserve that person’s understanding.

Every individual you encounter has a unique perspective that’s different than your own. At the same time, every person also has many things in common with you.

Effective, enduring connection happens when you do the work to reach from where you are to where the other person is. That work consists of honesty, humility, respect and precision in your words, and generosity in your spirit.

Every day, people from vastly different backgrounds, with widely varying perspectives, forge positive, fruitful connections with each other. That’s because despite their differences, they care enough, and are diligent enough, to find common ground and to build upon it.

Every person is unique, and that can be a powerfully good thing. Make the effort to connect with that goodness, to understand, to cooperate, and help the world benefit from the astounding treasure of human experience.

— Ralph Marston

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July 11

Learn all you can

Learn from people and projects that succeed. Learn from things that fail.

Learn from those who share your opinion. Learn from those who disagree with you.

Learn from the various activities you engage in, and from the different ways you feel afterwards. Learn from whatever causes disappointment, and from all that gives you joy.

When you don’t understand, have the courage to ask. When you do understand, have the humility to know there’s much more to learn.

Learn from the wisdom and experience of those who came before you. Learn from the playful dreams of those who are just beginning life’s journey.

Learn, learn, learn all you can. And do your very best with all you know.

— Ralph Marston

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July 12

Difficult things happen

Every problem is a chance for you to become a better version of yourself. Every challenge charts a path for growth and improvement.

Every setback carries the potential for powerful motivation. Every disappointment can lift you to a higher level of resolve.

Every inconvenience has the power to inspire new resourcefulness. Every frustration gives you a way to strengthen your patience.

From each positive experience, you learn a few things. From each negative experience, you learn much more.

Of course you would not intentionally seek to be hurt or disappointed. But neither would you want a life where hurt and disappointment never happen.

Difficult things can happen, do happen, and amazingly, life finds a way to make them beneficial. Difficult things can happen, and that’s what makes the good things so very good.

— Ralph Marston

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July 13

Define the goal

Don’t assume just by identifying the problem that the solution is obvious. Do the work to develop and articulate that solution.

It’s important and helpful to point out what is wrong. Yet to give real value to your observation, you must clearly define what will make the situation right.

If you can’t do that, dig deeper or move on. There’s no point in continuing to dwell on any problem if you’re unable to envision what specifically must be done about it.

To work toward any goal you must first make sure it is clearly defined. If other people are to join with you in the effort, they must also know precisely what you intend to accomplish.

A vague list of complaints is not enough to get things moving forward. What matters is what you intend to do about it.

Challenge yourself to define the goal in ways that can be effectively communicated and enthusiastically embraced. Then you’re well on your way to making the problem a thing of the past.

— Ralph Marston

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July 14

Failure and persistence

Don’t let any failure make you into a failure. Use it as another step to success.

You attempted something and it didn’t work. Rather than holding you back from another attempt, let that experience prepare you for your next attempt.

You tried fifteen times and nothing worked. Do you have what it takes for number sixteen and beyond?

To be strong enough to achieve, you must be persistent enough to pick yourself up after each disappointment, including this one. Otherwise, that valuable experience you just gained will be lost.

The only things that can ever have value to you are the things you’ve invested yourself in. Each setback is an opportunity to invest more, and to enlarge the size of your eventual reward.

Throughout history, success has been built with a combination of failure and persistence. Continue that legacy, and build some great new success of your own.

— Ralph Marston

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July 15

Focus with care

Maybe the problem is not really a problem. Maybe you can change your perspective and the problem will disappear.

Sometimes you zoom in so intensely on a trivial issue that it seems like the most important thing in the world. While it’s great that you have such a powerful ability to focus, you must remember to use it with care.

Just because something makes a lot of noise doesn’t mean it has any great significance. Just because a task is urgent doesn’t mean it will make a difference.

Develop a solid appreciation for what makes your life good, for what threatens you, for what genuinely fulfills you. Allocate your attention and your efforts accordingly.

Reserve your considerable talent and creativity for those things that really matter. Take care not to get drawn in to those shallow, fleeting matters that don’t.

Take a deep breath, take a step back, sleep on it, go for a walk. You might save yourself a lot of time, anguish, and trouble.

— Ralph Marston