Daily Motivation 1-28-11

Friday, January 28, 2011

Today's Gift

Staying in the Present Moment

Often, one of our biggest questions is "What's going to happen?" We may ask this about our relationships, our career, our recovery, and our life. It is easy to tangle us up in worrisome thoughts.

Worrying about what's going to happen blocks us from functioning effectively today. It keeps us from doing our best now. It blocks us from learning and mastering today's lessons. Staying in the now, doing our best, and participating fully today are all we need to do to assure ourselves that what's going to happen tomorrow will be for the best.

Worrying about what's going to happen is a negative contribution to our future. Living in the here and now is ultimately the best thing we can do, not only for today, but also for tomorrow. It helps our relationships, our career, our recovery, and our life.

Things will work out, if we let them. If we must focus on the future other than to plan, all we need to do is affirm that it will be good.

I pray for faith that my future will be good if I live today well, and in peace. I will remember that staying in the present is the best thing I can do for my future. I will focus on what's happening now instead of what's going to happen tomorrow.

From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©1990

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Twenty-Four Hours A Day

 

Walk In Dry Places
 
Easy does it_____ Avoiding tension
As people of excess, alcoholics tend to swing between periods of great activity and times of complete lassitude. There is a tendency to waste time at one point, and then overcompensate for it by working feverishly and frantically to catch up. Both ways are out of balance.

 

We need to approach life in a relaxed manner, letting the natural rhythm of events take over and do some of the work for us.  Too much effort defeats itself.  The overanxious person strives too hard and makes things worse, like the salesman who talks too long and kills the sale.

In the AA way of life, we expect and accept responsibilities.  But we are not slavishly committed to success at any price.  We make a full commitment to any project we undertake, and we do our best at all times.  Then we let things unfold rather than trying to force them.

 

It is also common to hear people say, "EASY DOES IT, BUT DO IT!"  This is a reminder that t he slogan is not a prescription for laziness and indifference.  It is also a reminder to avoid high-pressure tactics and excessive pushing.

Action for the Day: I'll let things work out today. I'll do whatever has to be done.

 

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One Day At A Time

 

Awakening
With a new awakening each day -- new strengths, new truths,
new acceptance of AA people and people not in AA --
a new world opened up. And every day it still does.
The adversities, loneliness, sickness, losses, and disappointments
mean nothing to me now. I'm happy, because I came to believe --
not only in God, but in the goodness in everyone.
- Came To Believe . . ., p. 45

Thought to Ponder . . .
A spiritual awakening is our greatest gift.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
G I F T = God Is Forever There.

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Daily Motivation

 

Each time you do

 

If you're looking to become more confident, look in the mirror. The person who can give you real confidence, is you.

Others can teach you, encourage you, and express their own confidence in you. Yet if you wish to have confidence in yourself, you must earn it for yourself.

 

The only way you can know your abilities is by putting them to work. Real confidence comes from your own experience of doing.

 

Every challenging situation is an opportunity for you to strengthen your confidence. Within every difficulty is the very real potential for growth.

 

The experience of making an effort creates confidence. The experience of making another effort, and another and another, until you get the job accomplished, creates even stronger confidence.

 

Confidence comes when you know you can do it, and the only way to know that is to do it. Step forward, take action, and your confidence will grow each time you do.

 

-- Ralph Marston