Daily Motivation 6-6-2012

Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Today's Gift

To err is human; to blame it on the other guy is even more human. --Bob Goddard

We are on a path that leads us to become better people with greater insight and stronger character. A central theme on this path is learning to take responsibility for ourselves, our mistakes, and our choices as we deal with our situations. We can make progress on this path by noticing our defensive reactions when we make a mistake or when someone criticizes us. Our old ways were aimed at shifting the blame or counterattacking to get someone else off our case. Now we are learning how to take on the blame when it honestly belongs to us.

One of the first things we need to learn in taking responsibility is that there is no shame in making a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. But some people don't accept responsibility for them, and others do. We have much greater respect for someone who does. Admitting when we were wrong doesn't mean speaking in vague generalities, saying that "mistakes were made." It doesn't mean saying, "Yes, I did this, but only because you did that." It means saying what we did or didn't do and laying the facts out there for us and others to deal with. When we can do that, forgiveness almost always follows shortly.

Today I will hold back my defensiveness and admit the facts as they are.

From the book Wisdom to Know by Anonymous

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

 

Keep It Simple

 

From early infancy onward we all incorporate into our lives the message we receive concerning our self-worth, or lack of self-worth, and this sense of value is to be found beneath our actions and feelings as a tangled network of self-perception. --Christina Baldwin

Lifting our self-esteem is not a particularly easy task for most of us. It's probable that again and again our confidence wavered before we sought help. It's also probable that our confidence still wanes on occasion. The old fears don't disappear without effort.

But each day we can do some one thing that will help us to feel better about ourselves. All it takes is one small act or decision, each day. The program can give us the strength we need each day to move forward one step.

Action for the Day: Today, I will do one thing I've been putting off. A whole collection of "one days" will lay the groundwork for the person I'm building within.

 

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One Day At A Time

 

Recovery
The joy of living is the theme of AA's Twelfth Step, and action is its key word.
Here we turn outward toward our fellow alcoholics who are still in distress.
Here we experience the kind of giving that asks no rewards.
Here we begin to practice all Twelve Steps of our program in our daily lives
so that we and those about us may find emotional sobriety.
- Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 106

Thought to Ponder . . .
Recovery is not an event; it is a process.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
S T A R = Start Talking About Recovery.

 

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Daily Motivation

Achievement is essential

Go beyond merely being curious about how it would be to live your dream. Commit to it, and experience the satisfaction of making it happen.

Do more than just talk about what you’d like to do, or what you should be doing, or what you plan to do. Take the persistent actions that will actually get it done.

Within your vision of how life can be, there is great value, ready and waiting to be expressed. Bring that vision to life, and bring that value into being.

Give your dreams the power of focused attention and committed, disciplined effort. Feel how great it feels to make a meaningful difference in your life and in your world.

Achievement is not only something you can do, it is something you have a deep and abiding longing to do. So make your days truly rich by using them to achieve.

Achievement is essential to the great and wonderful experience of being alive, of being you. Give yourself the gift of fulfillment by keeping yourself working to make a real and positive impact on life.

— Ralph Marston