Daily Motivator - March

[bluidkiti]

March 1

Building blocks of excellence

Pay attention to the details. But don’t get lost in them.

Obsessing over details can result in excellence, yet it can also result in wasted time and resources. The difference is in knowing which details matter and which details don’t.

For a business, a real person answering the phone on the first ring is a detail that matters. The typeface used on that person’s business card is probably a detail that doesn’t.

Planning a trip, deepening a relationship, building a business, life’s many endeavors involve lots of details. Dealing with all those details can quickly become overwhelming.

To ease that burden, remember to ask yourself this. In the big picture, does it really matter or does it not?

Identify the details that matter and point your energy in their direction. Apply your skills to those meaningful details that are the building blocks of excellence.

— Ralph Marston

[willbe275]

Happy March Tammy and Kracker,
Thanking God for watching over us during
the month of February one day at a time,
I pray that He will guide us through this
month with and abundance of, peace
love and good will towards one another
Amen.

[bluidkiti]

March 2

Achieve what you desire

The results you get are not simply a function of what you desire. They’re a function of what your desires inspire you to do.

On its own, without any further action, setting a goal is meaningless. For a goal to matter it must prompt you to make some change in the way you live your life.

What do you desire, in your personal life, in your career, in your level of physical fitness? What commitment are you willing to make, what actions are you willing to take, to fulfill those desires?

It can be fun to dream and to wish. What’s a whole lot more satisfying and a whole lot more work is to achieve what you desire.

Fortunately, you have the power to transform dreams into reality. You can think, you can act, you can learn, adapt, and persist.

You’re never too old, too young, too rich or too poor to set a meaningful goal and work toward it. No matter your situation, it’s always a great thing to do.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

March 3

Start sooner

Take a moment to think back about all you’ve done in your life. You’ll discover a lot more undertakings you now wish you had started sooner, and hardly any you wish you had started later.

What can you learn from this? Your own experience demonstrates the value of starting sooner rather than later.

Is there something you’ve been thinking about doing, saying, learning, mastering? Now is the time to stop thinking about it and start putting it into practice.

If it’s worth doing, it’s worth starting sooner. To get the most out of your effort and commitment, start sooner.

But perhaps you can’t start until you’ve made sufficient preparations. Then start sooner on the preparations.

Put as much time as possible on your side. Let go of your doubt and hesitation, and start sooner.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

March 4

Steps available to you

You have ability, you have opportunity, you have resources. Transform them into value.

Your needs will not be met by merely focusing on those needs. To satisfy your needs and desires, you must do what you can do with whatever you have.

You can’t do everything, yet you can do something. Conditions are not perfect, yet they do present you with certain opportunities.

Within the limitations, within the restraints, within the challenges, those very real opportunities exist. Seek to find them, to focus on them, to act on them.

Wishing for things to be easier will only make things harder. So spend your energy on productive action rather than on empty wishes or toxic resentments.

There is a path from here to where you need to be. Take the steps available to you, and put yourself solidly on that path.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

March 5

Embrace the difficulty

You won’t make the problem any less problematic by hiding from it. Embrace the difficulty and you begin to give yourself a measure of control over it.

Exercise your courage and improve your effectiveness at the same time. Admit the shortcomings, limitations, mistakes, and disappointments, then do something about them.

You’re not going to fool anybody by pretending there’s not a problem. What you can do is impress everyone, including yourself, by meeting the problem head-on.

Look at the situation with clarity and with the highest expectations. Throw in a little humor and good cheer.

Ask yourself, what would turn a negative into a positive? From what areas within this challenge, with what specific actions, can you extract opportunity and value?

Look honestly and bravely at the problem and what you’ll see is a chance to add new richness to life. Feel your courage take hold as you embrace the difficulty and transform it into something good.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

March 6

Better with every effort

In order to be smart you must ask stupid questions. In order to gain new skills and wisdom you must be willing to look like a fool.

No one rides a bicycle perfectly on the first attempt. The only way to become graceful at it is to start as an awkward beginner.

Is there something you’re reluctant to attempt because you’ll look bad at first? Well, you’ll look even worse if you’re always afraid to do it.

To get good at it you have to go through being bad at it. The way to do anything well is to give yourself permission to do it poorly for a while.

From the moment you were born you’ve been improving your skills and abilities. Give that positive trend new avenues where it can continue.

Admit you don’t know, accept that you can’t do it, and then challenge yourself to learn. Encourage and enable yourself to get better and better with every effort.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

March 7

A job well done

It’s a great feeling when you know you’ve done something well. Think of what you could do today to give yourself that feeling.

When you make a difference, it makes a difference for you. Suddenly you’re more enthusiastic, more keenly aware of life’s best possibilities.

A job well done improves your outlook on life and raises your confidence level. It enables you to connect with your skills, capabilities, and resourcefulness.

Is there any task you’ve neglected that you could focus on today? Is there anything you’ve been doing halfheartedly that you could give more diligence and attention to?

It can be all too easy to grow cynical and disappointed with life. Yet whenever you choose, you can create a powerful reminder of life at its best.

Give yourself and your world the benefit of a job well done. Discover all over again how positive and effective you can be.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

March 8

Making a difference

Life in all its forms has made a difference long before you were around to see it. Vast stretches of hard, unyielding volcanic rock were transformed into soft, fertile soil by the power of life.

The oxygen that sustains you in every moment is constantly replenished by life itself. Much of the value in your world comes from the reality that life, in its very essence, makes a difference.

Not only can you make a difference, you can choose what difference to make. Every day you make that choice, and every day it matters.

You can positively affect the course of your own life and the lives around you. It is a magnificent opportunity and a great responsibility.

What you think, what you choose, what you do, it all makes a difference far beyond what anyone can imagine. So it’s best to make your choices based on love, wisdom, gratitude, respect, and generosity.

All the time, you can make a difference, you do make a difference. What positive and uplifting difference will you make right now?

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

March 9

Best version of you

No feeling lasts forever. If the way you feel is holding you back, change it.

Right now you can replace futility with hope. Right now you can transform apathy into enthusiasm.

Have you had a disappointing few minutes, or day, or month? Here is where the disappointment ends and a more fruitful, fulfilling life begins.

You will always face challenges and difficult situations. Yet you don’t ever have to let any outside conditions get you down.

You decide who you are, how you feel, where to focus your attention and energy. Decide in a way that uplifts your life and the lives around you.

The world is as it is. Meet that world with the very best version of you, and do the good work to bring more positive possibilities to life.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

March 10

Beyond frustration

Frustration can put you in a foul mood and ruin your effectiveness. But it doesn’t have to.

You can notice your frustration, learn from it, take positive action based on it. You don’t have to let it become an excuse.

On its own, whatever is frustrating you is not forcing you to be one way or another. The source of frustration may be out of your control, yet your own response is very much up to you.

Don’t let frustration goad you into needless anger, rudeness, or other destructive behavior. Instead, see it as a prompt to reaffirm your own positive direction.

Whether your frustration is with yourself or with your situation, there’s nothing to be gained by perpetuating it. Make it your choice to move quickly beyond that frustration.

Don’t allow frustration to make you into someone you would not want to be. Rise above it and commit yourself once again to living at your very best.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

March 11

Activate your resourcefulness

Some people have access to great and varied resources. Others have a characteristic that can be even more valuable, resourcefulness.

No matter what you have or don’t have, you can find ways to make better use of it. By employing your resourcefulness and learning from the experience, you strengthen that resourcefulness.

Resourcefulness is a child of gratitude. The more appreciative you are for whatever you have, the more ways you can find to make good use of it.

Without sufficient resourcefulness, time, resources and opportunities get wasted. That doesn’t do anyone any good.

A life of fulfillment is not primarily about what you start with. It’s more about what you do with it.

How can you make use of what’s available to get from where you are to where you desire? Allow gratitude to activate your resourcefulness, and you’re well on your way.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

March 12

Live the promise of now

Celebrate this moment that is now because now is where you live. Make good use of now because now is what you have, everything that is.

You can conceptualize the past and the future, and that can be useful. Yet now is the only time where you can actually be.

Now is when you can make progress. Now is when you can enjoy the richness of life.

All the things you’ve ever done have brought you to now. You’re already highly invested in now, so be sure to live it fully.

Now also holds great potential for all you can be. What you do with now will impact all the days ahead.

Give now the respect, attention, energy, and action it deserves. Live the promise, reap the value, of now.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

March 13

Bring your courage forth

You must give up some degree of certainty in order to act. You must give up being where you are in order to move forward.

Every bit of progress you’ve made has been an expression of courage. Today you can extend that progress with more courage.

In places you least want to go, doing what you least want to do, you gain your most valuable rewards. You have the courage to do great things, if you will let yourself use it.

You have good reasons to fear the unknown. Yet you also possess the skills to perceive and adapt to all kinds of situations you cannot yet imagine.

Don’t be reckless, but do be courageous. You owe it to yourself, and to all of life, to transform potential into richness.

Today you’ll encounter opportunities to bring your courage forth. Notice those opportunities and choose to act on them.

— Ralph Marston

[bluidkiti]

March 14

Give goodness today

Give yourself a little extra kindness today. You deserve it.

Spread that kindness to those around you. They deserve it, and you deserve the good experience of sharing.

Give your life a unique and positive experience today. Expand your understanding of what it means to be you, of how good it is to be alive.

Remind yourself of all you can be thankful for today. Deepen your appreciation for all that is.

You put a great amount of effort and commitment into living. Be sure to fully enjoy and share the fruits of all that dedication.

Give goodness today, to yourself, to others, to the world. There’s always room for more.

— Ralph Marston