The Work-In: Daily Motivation 1-8-2016

Friday, January 8, 2016

Today's Gift

When people make changes in their lives in a certain area, they may start by changing the way they talk about that subject, how they act about it, their attitude toward it, or an underlying decision concerning it. —Jean Illsley Clarke

Acting "as if" is powerful. It leads the way to a changed attitude, a changed person. If we are self-conscious in crowds and fearful about meeting new people and yet act poised and extend our hands in friendship, we'll not only behave in a new way, but feel good about it, too. Each act we take in this way brings us closer to the person we are behaving like. Each positive change we make builds our self-esteem. 

Realizing that through our own actions we are becoming the kind of person we admire gives us the strength, in fact, encourages the excitement in us that's needed to keep changing. Making positive changes in our lives is the stuff that comprises self-esteem. Each gain makes the next one easier to attempt.

I will accept an opportunity today to act "as if" I can handle a situation I used to run from.

From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey ©

From: Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation - Thought for the Day http://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/recovery/thought-for-the-day

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Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Walk In Dry Places

In wildness is the preservation of the world. --Henry David. Thoreau

Nature confronts us with its beauty in a flower or a furry animal. The awesomeness of nature is in a lightning bolt or a majestic mountain. Every variety of tree has its own uniquely textured bark. Each annual ring in a tree trunk is a natural record of the growing conditions in each year it grew. These things remind us we are not in charge, and we are moved by the experience.

This wildness is everywhere around us, and we are renewed by it when we interact with it. At night, in the city, we look up and see the ancient moon. When we live with a pet, it reminds us we are creatures too. We are part of this larger whole. We don't just appreciate nature - we are nature. When we open our eyes and learn to be a part of it, it renews and lifts our spirits.

Action for the Day: Today, I will notice my relationship with the sun and moon, with the plants and animals in my world.

From: Bluidkiti's Alcohol and Drug Addictions Recovery Help/Support Forums

Daily Recovery Readings - http://www.bluidkiti.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=2

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One Day At A Time

The Ladder
No one who drank as I did wakes up on the edge of the abyss one morning and says:
Things look pretty scary; I think I'd better stop drinking before I fall in.
I was convinced I could go as far as I wanted, and then climb back out when it wasn't fun anymore.
What happened was, I found myself at the bottom of the canyon thinking I'd never see the sun again.
AA didn't pull me out of the hole. It did give me the tools to construct a ladder, with Twelve Steps.
- Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 316
Thought to Ponder . . .
I stood in the sunlight at last.

AA-related 'Alconym' . . .
H J F = Happy, Joyous, Free.

From: AA Thought for the Day (courtesy AA-Alive.net)

http://www.aa-alive.net/index.html

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Daily Motivation

Excerpt of The Daily Motivator

Create the best
by Ralph Marston

Calm your thoughts and be peaceful. Know that all is well, all the time.

This moment is already the best it can be, and is everything it can be. Accept it and move forward.

Do not fear the worst, for your thoughts of fear give great power to whatever it is you fear. Instead, sincerely expect the best and you create the best.

Know that the positive possibilities are always present, and your eyes will be opened to them. Everything that is, can be put to good use in moving toward your highest vision for life.

As life unfolds in each moment, new opportunities are being born. No matter what has already happened, choose to create the very best you can imagine.

This is the day that you have to work with. Live with peaceful purpose, and use it to create a magnificent world.

From The Daily Motivator website at http://greatday.com/