Thursday, November 29, 2007

Choose your attitude

Your attitude can be based on the weather, the amount of traffic congestion, the way people treat you, or a whole lot of other things. Or, your attitude can be exactly what you choose for it to be.

When you turn your attitude over to other people or to random circumstances, it's going to be volatile, undependable and not very productive. By contrast, when you choose your own attitude, independent of what's happening around you, then you set yourself up to make swift and positive progress.

Your attitude serves as a lens through which you see life, and it's best when that lens is focused on the positive possibilities. Your attitude can enable you to make the most of difficult situations, to find and to create enormous value in your world.

There is absolutely nothing that forces you to adopt one particular attitude over another. When you get in the habit of consciously choosing to have a positive, empowering attitude, you become gloriously free to achieve the things that are most meaningful to you.

Your attitude is always yours to select. Doesn't it make sense to select an attitude that will foster peak performance and effectiveness no matter what may be going on around you?

Don't let anyone or anything else control something as critically important as your attitude. Now, and always, choose an attitude that will enable you to soar high.

-- Ralph Marston

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Yes you can do it

Yes, you can do it. And you can begin right now.
Sure, you've run into problems in the past. Yet there is a way to get past every one of them.

When it is important enough to you and meaningful enough for you, you will find a way. There is a positive, effective step that you can take this very moment.

It will require effort on your part, as well as commitment and persistence. Fortunately, you are fully capable of all those things.

Yes, you can do it, and in the process you will more fully become the beautiful, unique person you are meant to be. You will grow more capable, more confident, more knowledgeable and experienced.

When your objective is connected with the purpose that drives every other purpose, there is no doubt that you can do it. Begin now to work your way there.

-- Ralph Marston

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Success within you

The success you seek is a reality that already exists within you. Your actions are the way you express that reality and bring it to your outer world.

Achievement is not a matter of becoming successful. It is a matter of fully demonstrating the success that is already within you.

Success is not something that you must strive to obtain or acquire. Instead, it is a beautiful and unique gift that you are able to give to your world.

Every success, every achievement comes from within. Nothing can separate you from the success you desire because it is already a part of you.

When the success that is within you drives your actions, that success will surely and faithfully flow out from you. Live the success that is yours, and that success will surround you.

Choose in each moment to fully and lovingly share the success that is within you. The expression of that success will add great value and beauty to your world.

-- Ralph Marston

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Able to feel

Sometimes your feelings can hurt profoundly. Yet wouldn't you rather have those painful feelings occasionally than never having any feelings at all?

Your feelings let you know you're alive. They tell you, in ways that words cannot, who you are.

Through your feelings, you discover what means the most to you. With your feelings, you're able to build rich, rewarding relationships.

Feelings can indeed be messy and inconvenient, yet they're certainly nothing to be ashamed of. Without feelings, life would be terribly flat and empty.

When a feeling seems to be uncomfortable or even unbearable, choose to dive more deeply into it. Somewhere in there you'll find something very positive, comforting and affirming.

You feel because you are, and you feel because you care. Those are things about which you can genuinely feel great.

-- Ralph Marston

Friday, December 14, 2007

No limitations

If all your limitations were suddenly removed, what would you do? If you were able to make absolutely anything happen, what would it be?

If there were no challenges standing in your way, where would you go? With absolutely nothing holding you back, what would your life become?

It's easy to get so caught up in pushing against your limitations that you start seeing yourself solely in terms of those limitations. Yet you are so very much more.

Instead of identifying yourself in relation to the challenges you face, dig deeper and find the real person inside. For the truth is, you exist apart from any challenge or limitation, and it is a powerful exercise to get solidly in touch with who you are.

Yes, there will always be obstacles and limiting factors. And the best way to get beyond them is by knowing that they do not define you.

Imagine a world with no limitations, and discover who you are in such a world. One by one, the challenges will fade in the distance as you express the limitless vision that is yours to live.

-- Ralph Marston

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Beyond the pain

Resentment is a useless pursuit. It does not help you, it does not help the situation, and it does not help the people you resent.

Resentment expands the damage that has been done and prolongs the pain that has been inflicted. And resentment often leads to new instances of hurtful behavior on the part of everyone involved.

The way to end the downward spiral of resentment is with forgiveness. Forgiveness frees you to move forward, unfettered by the burden of past wrongdoing.

Forgiveness does not mean that what happened was acceptable. Forgiveness simply enables you to completely, once and for all, let it go.

In every life, there are numerous and continuing opportunities for deep, abiding and destructive resentment. But there is nothing at all to be gained by spending your life filling up a mental warehouse with those painful resentments.

Choose instead to quickly forgive, and to move forward, beyond the pain and into a world filled with positive possibilities. Don't waste your life on resentment when there is so very much beauty, life and love to experience.

-- Ralph Marston

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Relax and enjoy

The world will wind you up into a tight little ball if you let it. Don't let it.

Relax and enjoy the ever-changing flow of being alive. There's no point in working yourself into a frenzy about anything.

The more uptight you are, the more mistakes you make. Relax, stop taking everything so seriously, and you'll find that you're vastly more effective.

Put a big, authentic and friendly smile on your face. Put some delightful positive thoughts in your mind.

The worst that could happen will almost certainly not happen. And even if it does, you'll find a way to handle it.

Live with passion and purpose while letting go of the tension and anxiety. Relax and enjoy every moment as it comes, and you'll be giving the world your very best.

-- Ralph Marston

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Failure

If you do not ever fail, then your goals are not nearly ambitious enough. If you do not come across new challenges on a regular basis, your abilities and effectiveness will become stale and weak.

Comfort is a good state in which to find rest, renewal and refuge for a while. It is a dreary and dismal place to take up permanent residence.

The reason life can be so rich is precisely because it can be so difficult. You cannot possibly appreciate or fully benefit from the good things if you have no experience with the bad things.

When your efforts are met with failure, you know you are on to something. Because on the other side of that failure is real and substantive accomplishment.

Seek not to create failure, nor to avoid failure. Seek instead to allow failure, when it comes, to keep you moving on the path to greater success.

Failure confirms that you are reaching higher. And higher is always the best direction to reach.

-- Ralph Marston

Monday, January 7, 2008

Positive purpose

Certain opportunities will come and go. Yet it is never too late and never too early to experience the richness of living with positive purpose.

Circumstances change from moment to moment, week to week, and year to year. And in every circumstance there are ways to find true fulfillment.

You can always make a difference. You can always make a valuable contribution.

By so doing, you connect yourself to life's greatest treasures. For the treasures that bring fulfillment are the ones you have a part in creating.

The joys of this golden moment are yours to live, no matter how you arrived here. For in this moment you have the opportunity to give the best of yourself.

This day is as fresh and wonderful and filled with opportunity as any you've ever known. Live it with positive purpose, and taste the richness you will surely create.

-- Ralph Marston

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Get a purpose

If you're not clear about your purpose on this day, random events, distractions and circumstances beyond your control will impose a purpose upon you. You'll end up spending your precious time in the service of things that won't bring any value or fulfillment.

In contrast, when you're solidly connected to a personally meaningful purpose, you're able to focus on making real progress. Though the same problems, frustrations and distractions will come, they will not have the power to overwhelm or consume you.

The more fully you understand why you wish to do something, the more clearly you'll see how to do it. Strong, solid, meaningful reasons will ignite the energy to create worthwhile and lasting achievements.

It is well worth the time and effort necessary to understand why you seek what you seek. When you know why, anything is within your reach.

To get maximum results from your efforts, look beyond the outer concerns of what you're doing. Look at why you've chosen to do it.

Give this day a real, honest purpose that truly means something to you. And you'll build value that continues long after the day is over.

-- Ralph Marston

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

It takes strength

It takes strength to do what must be done when the work is unpleasant and uncomfortable. It takes strength to persist in the face of obstacles, when it would be much easier to simply give up.

It takes strength to be polite to someone when that person has been rude to you. It takes strength to be truthful when a lie would be more convenient.

It takes strength to build for the future. It takes strength to resist temptations and distractions.

It takes strength to do what is right. It takes strength to make an effort when it would be easier to make up an excuse.

It takes strength to do all these things. And all the while, these are the very things that build even more strength.

Be truthful, do what you know is right, put forth effort when it is called for, persist, and the more you do so, the more easily you'll be able to do so. Exercise your strength, and you'll surely grow stronger, more capable, and successful in each endeavor.

-- Ralph Marston

quote:

When you turn your attitude over to other people or to random circumstances, it's going to be volatile, undependable and not very productive. By contrast, when you choose your own attitude, independent of what's happening around you, then you set yourself up to make swift and positive progress.

Whenever I lose my temper I place my life in the hands of a fool


I read that a hundred years ago in Reader's Digest, Quotable Quotes, and it has stuck, but thank you for the needed reminder.

quote:

Originally posted by Wiz:

quote:

When you turn your attitude over to other people or to random circumstances, it's going to be volatile, undependable and not very productive. By contrast, when you choose your own attitude, independent of what's happening around you, then you set yourself up to make swift and positive progress.

Whenever I lose my temper I place my life in the hands of a fool


I read that a hundred years ago in Reader's Digest, Quotable Quotes, and it has stuck, but thank you for the needed reminder.

Great quote, Wiz.

Thanks for sharing. . .I need to pass it along to my youngest brother. He has a wee bit of a temper.

Friday, February 29, 2008

Serendipity

Good things will come to you in ways you could never anticipate or expect. Yet if you're constantly placing judgments, conditions and restrictions on your life, you'll miss out on most of those good things.

Being open to the abundance of life means being open to the unknown and unexpected. If you hide away from what you do not know, you'll never discover anything new.

The world is constantly changing, and many of those changes can seem frightening. Yet within each and every change there is opportunity.

When the world changes, legions of positive possibilities are born. When the unexpected happens, there is much new value to be created.

Choose to welcome the constant newness that is essential to life. For it brings new ways to more fully express and fulfill your own unique purpose.

In every unexpected turn of events is a pleasant surprise waiting to be discovered.

Open yourself to the freshness of each dawning moment, and find those magnificent treasures that have just been born.

-- Ralph Marston

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Emerge a winner

There are some events that you can influence by making intelligent choices and by taking decisive action. There are other events and situations that are completely out of your control.

You have what it takes to successfully deal with both. There's no need to worry endlessly about what the future will bring, for it always brings you new opportunities to make a positive difference.

You can do your very best with those situations that are under your control. And you can adapt and adjust to those situations over which you have little or no influence.

The foolish actions of others can leave you hopelessly frustrated if you allow them to do so. Keep in mind, however, that there's nothing to be gained by working yourself into a knot of frustration and resentment.

Instead, accept whatever comes your way and commit yourself to finding the value in it and making the best of it. With a positive, generous sense of purpose, there's no limit to what you can achieve, even when conditions are less than ideal.

Greet each new day and each new turn of events with confidence and enthusiasm. And you'll emerge a winner no matter what.

-- Ralph Marston

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Drop the pretenses

Have you ever thought about what an extraordinary burden your pretenses create? In the service of your various pretenses, you waste much time, treasure, effort and emotional energy.

And what do those pretenses accomplish for you? Even if you are highly successful at maintaining them, the most they can bring are the resentments of others.

The pretenses you strive to create and support are, by any reasonable measure, simply not worth having. And fortunately, they're very easy to discard.

What happens when you choose to let go of your pretenses? You experience a wonderful, refreshing and positively exhilarating sense of freedom.

The power and fulfillment you seek through your pretenses can be yours the moment you drop those useless pretenses. The way to be most impressive and effective is to most authentically be the person you are.

Pretense and true confidence cannot both exist in the same space. Drop the pretenses, and watch your confidence rightfully soar.

-- Ralph Marston

Monday, March 17, 2008

A burden you don't deserve

It's easy to blame someone else for your troubles. Yet when you're truly honest with yourself, it's clear that blaming someone else will not add the slightest bit of value to your life.

It seems fair and reasonable to expect your problems to be solved by the people who caused them, but stop and think about it. Do you really wish to give those people who caused your problems any additional control over your life and your future?

To move your life in the direction you choose to go, you must be willing to take full responsibility for it. That means moving past what's easy and accepting that things are not always going to be fair.

Perhaps life has given you a burden you don't deserve. Instead of seeing that as an excuse to give up, see it as an opportunity to give more.

Though you may not have brought the troubles upon yourself, you can nevertheless make positive use of them.

Choose to take full responsibility for your own situation, and you'll begin to see how you can rise from it to a level that's higher than ever before.

Real success does not result from everything going perfectly. Real success comes when you're willing to move forward no matter what may happen.

-- Ralph Marston

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Truly live

Think of the best possible thing that you could accomplish today, and then ask yourself this.

What would be even better?

Instead of lowering your expectations to be more in line with reality, raise those expectations and then improve your reality so it matches them. That's a much better choice and yes, you can most certainly do it.

Realize that the best is yet to come. Then get busy and make it happen.

What has happened before may be interesting and useful to know about. Yet all of that is in the past, and right now the world is filled with brand new possibilities.

The quality of your life right now depends on how you live it right now. What will you choose to do with such a magnificent opportunity?

This is the moment when you can mold life into whatever you would like it to be. Take a deep breath, stand up, walk forward and truly live all the wonder that is here.

-- Ralph Marston

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Yours to create

If anyone has been able to do it before, you can do it too. If no one has ever done it, you can be the first.

What seems out of your reach now, gets closer the moment you begin working toward it. There is a way to achieve what you choose, when you commit yourself to continue taking action.

If you could have it all instantly, it would not be worth having. For the real value of accomplishment is in the accomplishing.

You are smart, and motivated, and flexible and resourceful. When you decide to make it happen, you will surely find your way there.

Focus on the reason for doing it, the deepest reason you can find within yourself. That will keep you going as long as necessary.

Achievement is yours to create, when it's something to which you're truly committed. Get it done, and know the special joy of making the world a better place.

-- Ralph Marston

quote:

Originally posted by Fabulous:
Sunday, March 30, 2008

Yours to create

If anyone has been able to do it before, you can do it too. If no one has ever done it, you can be the first.

What seems out of your reach now, gets closer the moment you begin working toward it. There is a way to achieve what you choose, when you commit yourself to continue taking action.

If you could have it all instantly, it would not be worth having. For the real value of accomplishment is in the accomplishing.

You are smart, and motivated, and flexible and resourceful. When you decide to make it happen, you will surely find your way there.

Focus on the reason for doing it, the deepest reason you can find within yourself. That will keep you going as long as necessary.

Achievement is yours to create, when it's something to which you're truly committed. Get it done, and know the special joy of making the world a better place.

-- Ralph Marston

I REALLY love this post, Fab

Thanks for placing it here! This is one of the first that really caught my attention and I am going to use it right now!

"WIAW!"