Daily Motivation 5-25-2012

Friday, May 25, 2011

Today's Gift

 

I don't do what I do just so people will think kindly of me. I like doing what I do. --Janice Clark

 

We're lucky if we like everything that we do. But many of us have to develop a willingness to like many of the activities we're involved in. Is that unusual? Probably not. Nor does it matter. Acting as if we enjoy a menial task or an unusual pursuit offers us a different perspective on it. Just looking at it through more willing eyes changes not just how we see it, but how we feel about it. Often we discover that we can enjoy that which we dreaded before.

 

Because we wanted to be liked, and it's human nature to want that, we often volunteered for committees, for jobs, for assignments of all kinds that we didn't want to do. There's no shame in that. But at long last, we can dare to be more selective about what we'll do.

 

We are needed. That's why we're still alive. And while not everybody likes us, those currently in our circle of acquaintances need us and we need them. The work that is yet to be done relies on all of us. Pitching in begins to feel good when we have the right attitude.

 

I don't have to like everything I need to do today, but I'll feel more open to all the tasks if I remember they need my input.

 

From the book Keepers of the Wisdom by Karen Casey

 

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Keep It Simple

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.---Eleanor Roosevelt

Most of us want to be happy. We just don't know how. We aren't sure what happiness is. We've learned the hard way that some things we wanted didn't make us happy. We're learning that happiness comes when we live the way our Higher Power wants us to live. That's when we’re honest. When we do our best work. When we are a true friend. We make happiness; we don't find it. Sometimes we don't even know we're happy. We're too busy with our work, our friends and family, our life. We need to slow down and know that when we do what we need to, happiness comes.

Prayer for the Day: Higher Power, help me know that I'm most happy when I listen to my inner self and do what makes me happy.

Action for the Day: What parts of my life am I most happy about? Today I'll think of these and enjoy myself.

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One Day At A Time

Fear
Fear has caused suffering when I could have had more faith.
There are times when fear suddenly tears me apart,
just when I'm experiencing feelings of joy, happiness and a lightness of heart.
Faith -- and a feeling of self-worth toward a Higher Power --
helps me endure tragedy and ecstasy.
- Daily Reflections, p. 181

Thought to Ponder . . .
Live each day with a little less fear and a little more faith.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
F E A R = False Expectations Appearing Real

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Daily Motivation

Your highest level

A little extra effort can buy you a lot of additional options. Instead of always being hindered by what you must do, put yourself in full control of what you can achieve.

A little more self-discipline and initiative can give you a lot more power over your own destiny. By embracing full responsibility for your own actions, you make those actions much more beneficial and effective.

Avoiding that responsibility, and seeking to take the easy way out, will quickly add to your difficulties. Being less than you can be, and doing less than you know you can do, will cause far more pain than any external challenge ever could.

There’s a reason why you have a burning desire to matter, to make a real difference in the world. It’s an essential part of who you are, of your deepest purpose, to get good and valuable things done.

So use the opportunity of this moment, and of every moment, to live and work and love and enjoy at your highest level. Let your unique value flow forth without holding back.

Live each day with the courage of your own special, beautiful possibilities. Always give your best, for it is your most profound and fulfilling desire to do so.

— Ralph Marston