Daily Motivations 11-26-2010

Friday, November 26, 2010

Today's Gift

Letting Go of Self-Criticism

Look how far we've come!

It's good to focus on the task ahead, on what remains to be done. It's important to stop and feel pleased about what we've accomplished too.

Yes, it may seem that the change has been slow. At times, change is grueling. Yes, we've taken steps backward. But we're right where we're supposed to be. We're right where we need to be.

And we have come so far.

Sometimes by leaps, sometimes with tiny steps, sometimes kicking and screaming all the while, sometimes with sleeves rolled up and white knuckles, we've learned. Grown. Changed.

Look how far we've come.

Today, I will appreciate my progress. I will let myself feel good about what has been accomplished.

From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©1990

 

*******************************

Twenty-Four Hours A Day

 

Keep It Simple
 
Life is not lost by dying; life is lost by minute, day by day, in all the thousands, small, uncaring ways.--- Stephen V. Benet

Our Twelve Step program promises us a new way of life. But most of us won’t just wake up one day with a new attitude. We only gain this new way of life if we get involved.

The Twelve Step are tools to build a new life. The more we use a tool, the easier it is to use. The same goes for the Twelve Steps, just as carpenters depend on their tools. If we only wait for the new way of life, it’ll never come. The quicker we get involved, the quicker we’ll get fixed.

Prayer for the Day:  Higher Power, help me get involved. Help me build a new way of life.

 

Action for the Day:  Today, I’ll look for ways to use the Twelve Steps. If I have a problem, I’ll first stop and think of how the Twelve Steps can help me solve it.

 

***********************

One Day At A Time

 

Metaphor
I remember when I bought my first Big Book,
I was told by an old timer that "meetings are the icing on the cake,
but the Big Book is the meat in the sandwich."
The AA's who were standing around the literature table that night
all nodded knowingly at this metaphor.
I realize now just how true those words are.
- Thank You For Sharing, p. 193

Thought to Ponder . . .
Walk softly and carry a Big Book.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
B I G B O O K = Believing In God Beats Our Old Knowledge.

 

********************

Daily Motivation

 

Uniquely valuable

You have made it through what has come before, and you can make it through what is yet to come. Every day brings more experience, and each experience brings new strength.

You have moved beyond more obstacles than you can remember. That's given you what it takes to move through the ones that are now appearing on your horizon.

Feel your doubts, feel your fears, and explore your concerns. Learn from them, adjust your approach, and then move on ahead.

With each new joy and with each new disappointment, life is calling you to make it better than it's ever been. With each new day, with each new challenge comes your opportunity to add your own special flavor of richness to life.

Whatever has already happened, you can find a way to quickly be at peace with it. Whatever comes along, you can find a way to make the very best of it.

Remind yourself often of how uniquely valuable each moment is. And choose to fully live every bit of that value.

-- Ralph Marston