Mikes Blog

Good things take time
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Instant gratification might feel good for a moment. Yet it cannot compare, in value or endurance, to the good things you can build over time.

The achievements you’ll treasure most are the ones that are the longest in coming. They’re the ones into which you put the most of who you are.

There simply are no substitutes for prolonged effort, commitment, and patience. And there certainly are no substitutes for the valuable things they will bring into your life.

Perhaps it seems shrewd to take all you can from life, as soon as you can. The far wiser approach, however, is to give to life, as much and as often as possible.

What you give is what ends up lasting the longest. What you give will build value and fulfillment far into the future.

Have patience, and know that some of the greatest treasures in life take a long time to fully arrive. That gives you the time, and the opportunity, to put the best of yourself into them.

— Ralph Marston

“You can be happy or sad, it doesn’t matter. You get to choose. You can go this way or that way. You get to choose. Figure it all out as you go. There’s not one right path. There are many right paths. Do anything you can do — which means think it or speak it or do it — that makes you feel a little better”. – Abraham

Attitude of discipline
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Enforcing discipline in one part of your life encourages discipline in all parts of your life. Abandoning discipline in just one little area will degrade your discipline in every area.

Discipline is made up of actions, yet discipline also is an attitude, a way of approaching life. That’s why even the smallest increase or decrease in discipline can lead to sizable results.

It’s tempting to let the little things slide, just this once. Yet inevitably that leads you to compromise the bigger things, and not just this once but every time.

By the same measure, it’s easy to add a small, new disciplined behavior to your life. When you do, you’ll experience the increased benefits of discipline being carried into other parts of your life.

Discipline enables you to take control of your affairs, to have more positive influence in your world. The more you experience discipline, the more you’re inspired to practice it.

What small, disciplined regimen can you bestow upon yourself right now? Embrace new opportunities to discipline yourself, and your results will increasingly reflect your desires.

— Ralph Marston

Pleasant thought
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You don’t have to let your thoughts continue to resist your life and your efforts. Whenever you choose, you can think a pleasant thought.

Think a pleasant thought, and push your awareness in a positive direction. Think a pleasant thought, and raise your energy to a higher level.

There are all too many incidents that can trigger a cascade of distressing feelings. They can trap you in a vicious negative thought pattern and immobilize your efforts.

When you realize that’s happening, break the pattern with a pleasant thought. Think of a good memory, a dear friend, a favorite place, or a satisfying activity.

A pleasant thought is not naive, wishful thinking. It is a strategy that enables you to regain control and to boost your effectiveness.

When life knocks you down is precisely the time you can benefit most from a positive perspective. Think a pleasant thought, and get yourself back to being your best.

— Ralph Marston