August 16

Challenge yourself

You know you can always make improvements, so challenge yourself to do it. Challenge yourself to make today more productive, more enjoyable and more fulfilling than any day yet.

Instead of just letting life throw random challenges at you, go ahead and provide yourself with truly meaningful challenges. As long as you’re going to be working through challenges, they might as well be the challenges that bring new value to your life.

Instead of running or hiding from the problems, challenge yourself to work through them. Instead of settling for less than the life you envision, challenge yourself to reach for your dreams.

Put some real, good, satisfying substance in your life. Challenge yourself to live the richness of your best possibilities.

Challenge yourself to get started early, to hit the ground running, and to be highly effective in your efforts. Challenge yourself to ignore the distractions and meaningless superficial noise, and to focus on real, fulfilling purpose.

Today is a magnificent opportunity to live, and to live richly. Challenge yourself to do whatever is necessary to make the very most of it.

— Ralph Marston

August 17

Joy to be lived

Every day, every moment, everywhere, joy is there to be lived. In the small details and in the grand stretches of magnificence, joy is always present and available.

Life is deeper than you’ve ever experienced it, more profound than you’ll ever know. And what a wonderful thing it is, that its mystery never runs out.

The world is filled with hearts that want to resonate with your heart. Endless expanses of beauty are longing to stir your soul with awe.

Color, darkness, warmth, music and silence add to the cornucopia of experience you are privileged to know. Today, avail yourself of the treasure and spread if far and wide.

Morning dew glistens as you stroll through this garden of abundance. Fresh possibilities invite you to love all you have and add to it.

And as moonlight bathes you in peaceful glow, a new day is already beginning to arrive. Welcome it, welcome life, welcome the possibilities, and as you marvel at your good fortune, enjoy the privilege of earning it with the way you live your life.

— Ralph Marston

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August 18

Live the miracle

What if you could step back and see the full value that challenge has added to your life? You would seek it out endlessly.

Imagine that you could see the entirety of the connection between gratitude and life’s abundance. You would be eternally thankful for every little morsel of substance in your life.

Consider what it would feel like to know the full, positive impact of just one small, kind act. You would seize upon each opportunity to offer kindness, compassion and encouragement.

Think of all the good, decent, life-affirming acts people engage in every day. Though they are quiet, modest, and little noticed, there are billions upon billions of them, and their positive influence is incalculable.

Invest a few moments to consider all the goodness that surrounds you, and all the possibilities available to you. Remember that what you focus upon, is what you act upon.

To the east, a golden glow fills the sky and another miraculous day of life has begun. See the miracle, feel it, and live its richness in every experience.

— Ralph Marston

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August 19

This particular spot

There are worlds to be imagined. Let them captivate you.

There are discoveries to be made. Allow your curiosity to push you constantly into them.

Life is being newly born in every moment. Enjoy the experience of its freshness again and again.

Today is a gift you’ve never been given before. Explore, investigate, laugh, learn, love, build, renew, and live to the fullest the unique experience it offers.

You’ve never before been in this particular spot in space and time. Grab its wonder and dive into its possibilities.

You’ve traveled a long way to get here now. This is your chance to make the moment worth all the effort, and more.

— Ralph Marston

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August 20

Don’t ignore the obvious

Sometimes what you’re searching for does not really need to be searched for. It’s right in front of you.

Sometimes the best answer is the most obvious one. Often, when something seems too simple and obvious and unsophisticated, that’s because it is exactly the right approach.

It’s important to think carefully about whatever you do. Yet it’s just as important not to over think it to the point that you fail to take action.

A complex approach might seem shrewd. Yet a direct approach may be much more effective.

Your dreams deserve your best efforts, and it could just be that the most obvious effort is the best effort. The reason common sense is so common is because it has been proven, again and again, to work.

Look in all the out-of-the-way spots, look for the hidden meanings, but also look at what’s right in front of you. Just because it’s obvious doesn’t make it worthless.

— Ralph Marston

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August 21

Eventually, it will

You don’t have to get the desired result from every single effort. Even if just a small percentage of your efforts pay off, you can achieve spectacular success.

There’s no need to get dejected when you take an action and it fails to produce results. Just do it again, and again, until it does bring a positive, valuable outcome.

Often, the way to succeed is to fail enough times. The way to get it right is to get it wrong enough times.

Those who enjoy the most success are also those who have endured a lot of disappointing results. Even when you fall short of the goal, you’re closer to that goal than you were before.

Certainly there’s no reason to purposely seek out disappointing results. But there’s also no reason to let them get you down.

So go ahead, make the effort, even if you’re not sure whether it will produce results. Because eventually, it will.

— Ralph Marston

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August 22

What a beautiful thing

It is wonderful when you discover you don’t have to prove you’re right. It is exhilarating to know there’s no need to worry.

The deep, resounding peace that comes when you truly forgive, can make the world a whole different place. The joy of giving, when you have no other agenda, is incomparable.

Life can surely get difficult, complicated and wearisome. And yet, it can just as surely get better, much better.

In an instant you can realize you don’t have to strive. The goodness you seek is there, and has always been.

What a beautiful thing it is that you can offer encouragement and by so doing, be encouraged. You can offer a helping hand, and end up greatly helping yourself.

The world is filled today with more good possibilities than ever. How nice it always is to enjoy the experience of bringing them to life.

— Ralph Marston

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August 23

A giving heart

When you live with a giving heart you don’t have to participate in the world’s negativity. You can give your own goodness to any situation.

You can wake up each morning absolutely certain that it’s going to be a great day. You can know without a doubt that there will always be new opportunities to experience the joy of your generosity.

When you live with a giving heart you never have to be disappointed. There is always something you can do to experience true fulfillment.

When your concerns cease to be all about you, the possibilities for joy become infinite. Seek to truly give of yourself, and previous limitations fall quickly away.

With a giving heart your words and actions take on the power of truth and authenticity. With each new situation comes a new way to make a positive difference.

Let yourself live with a giving heart. See the world in a whole new light, and experience life and joy at the highest levels.

— Ralph Marston

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August 24

For the first time

See the world for the first time today, fresh and new and full of hope. Marvel at the power of your own living spirit, as if you’ve never encountered it before.

Open yourself to the miracle that is your own existence in this moment. Let the truth that springs from every reality sink warmly into your soul.

Wake from the slumber of your past and feel the crisp breeze of awareness, as it heightens your senses and stirs your curiosity. Drink in the wonder of now as it flows through every step you take.

Delight in uncovering new ways to love what you’ve always loved. Realize that it is all good, and that you can make it more so.

Time is your friend and is coming to you now. This is your chance to show each moment your appreciation by filling it with your own special beauty.

Life is all in this moment, and really is as new and fresh and inspiring as you think it is. See the world for the first time today, and give all the joy you’ve been so eager to give.

— Ralph Marston

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August 25

Feeling better

If you’re not feeling so good, you don’t have to feel bad about feeling bad. You have it in you to feel better.

It’s not your fault when unfortunate things have happened. It is your option, however, to see the positive possibilities going forward.

Your life is a lot of work and it’s completely understandable when some of what you work on doesn’t work out. Take it as an opportunity to reconnect with your dreams, and to feel better.

There are all kinds of things to be concerned about, and you are wise to be wary. Yet you’ve made it through a whole lot of challenges before, and grown stronger, so now you can allow the fears to softly subside.

There are many things that affect your feelings. The overriding factor is the way you choose to see life in this moment.

So give yourself a decided advantage, and choose to see more of the positive side. Feel better, because you can, and because it empowers you to live the life you desire.

— Ralph Marston

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August 26

Come back home

Come back to the place in your heart that feels like home. Come back to the state of being where you can be who you most love to be.

It is wonderful to see novel beauty, to live through new experiences, getting to know people you’ve never met before. Every so often, though, come back home.

Come back home where you can feel safe as you process it all. Come back home to your treasured values, your familiar surroundings, where you can make some sense out of what you’ve experienced and learned.

Give yourself space to celebrate, to appreciate, to enjoy what’s always been most important to you. Wherever you happen to be, whomever you may be with, you can give yourself the gift of spending some quality time at home.

Come back home, stay for a while, and strengthen your resolve to support and enable what you treasure most. Come back home, and remind yourself why you’re doing it all in the first place.

It’s exciting and empowering to travel far and wide. And it’s also good, on occasion, to come back home.

— Ralph Marston

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August 27

So much good you can do

Stop worrying about how difficult it will be. Start discovering how well you can handle it.

Don’t hesitate for another moment, because your hesitation works against you. Get up, get going, and get it done.

Rest for a while when you are weary. But don’t rest for so long that you lose all your momentum.

What will energize you is taking action. What will ease your weariness is doing something useful to make positive, meaningful progress.

There are plenty of excuses, and none of them will do you any good. Leave them all behind and feel the exhilaration as you take control of your own destiny.

Starting right now, there is so much good you can do. Get up, get moving in the direction of your dreams, and enjoy all the greatness you are meant to create.

— Ralph Marston

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August 28

Push life in a positive direction

When the bad stuff gets worse, you can get better. When hope is nowhere to be found, you can create a whole lot of it.

You don’t have to deny reality in order to be positive. You just have to be willing to change reality, and you can.

You can think, you can act, you can learn, you can adjust, you can dream, you can do, you can persist and you can help. There are a thousand ways for you to make a significant positive difference in the next month, and even more ways after that.

There’s more to greatness than just looking good as you sail through life. True greatness is built in times of adversity by refusing to accept the finality of that adversity and by working to turn life around.

The world could use a little true greatness from you right now. Use your intelligence, your love and your energy today to push life in a positive direction.

Push life in a positive direction, and keep pushing. This great experience of life is ready for you to make it even greater.

— Ralph Marston

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August 29

Give yourself a goal

A solid, tangible goal for this day will push you to achieve more than the goal itself. A goal will empower you in ways that go far beyond whatever you initially intend to do.

Even if your goal seems self-serving, in following that goal you create value that goes beyond yourself. Even if the goal seems frivolous, there are serious and consequential things it will accomplish.

Following a positive purpose, whatever it may be, engages the best of your skills. Taking on a challenge, any challenge, makes you stronger, more confident and more capable.

Pick a specific goal for this day and point yourself decisively in its direction. Choose a goal that means something to you, and make it happen.

The hours of this day will pass quickly, so decide right now what you’re going to do with that precious time. Through your efforts, you can grab the moments as they come, and exchange their fleeting value for something useful that endures.

Give yourself a goal for this day, and give yourself a chance to discover how much good you can do for your world. Give yourself a goal, and give life the best you have.

— Ralph Marston

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August 30

Just be

Relax your mind and calm your thoughts. Let go of the frustrations, anxieties, and judgments, and just be.

Just be, and feel the miracle of your own existence. Just be, and feel the spark of joy that’s deep within you.

Focus on that joy and allow it to grow ever more present in your awareness. Feel that joy and see it flowing out from you into all of life.

Let go of the need to struggle, and simply let yourself be. Let go of the urge to make things this way or that, and enjoy the beauty of the way things are.

There is certainly much you can do to make a positive difference in life. And you’ll do it far more effectively when you live and act with a peaceful spirit.

For this precious moment, just be, and feel the power of your own authentic purpose. Just be, and gain new energy with which to live and express that purpose.

— Ralph Marston

Read more at http://greatday.com/motivate/140830....kdyvvWSiXDo.99