Mikes Blog

How things could be going
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When things go wrong, there’s no hard and fast rule that says you have to be dismayed. It’s just as possible, and a whole lot more useful, to be inspired.

You might often adopt an attitude based on what has recently happened. But that doesn’t have to be what drives your attitude and your outlook.

What if instead of being fixated on how things have been going, you direct your focus elsewhere? What if you look instead at how things could be going?

Even on a bad day you still have lots of good possibilities. And when you’re having a bad day that can be a great time to act on some of your most positive possibilities.

Are you dissatisfied and disappointed with the way things are? That enables you to envision precisely what would make life better.

Embrace that vision, feel its positive power. And let it push you, with an optimistic frame of mind, into effective and beneficial action.

— Ralph Marston

Let life be beautiful
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Let life be beautiful. Let your needs be few.

Let clouds drift across the deep blue sky. Allow yourself to know the joy that has no reason or hidden design.

Take breath in, let breath out. Do the best at what you do, see the best in others.

Be slow to lose your patience, and eager to forgive. Offer kindness every time you can, and candor when it’s called for.

Embrace the life that this day brings. Forge new goodness and value from whatever comes your way.

Understand the immense value of everything to which you’re connected. Allow the beauty, and be the beauty.

— Ralph Marston

What worries you
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Worry won’t protect you from whatever you’re worried about. What can protect you are truth, strength, and action.

Here are the questions you must ask yourself. What can you do about it, and what will you do about it?

The good thing about worry is that it points your awareness specifically toward what you care about. That’s a valuable start, but it’s not enough.

Once you understand what you care about, worry has done its job. At that point you can transform the energy of worry into the energy of focused, effective action.

You can make a commitment to improve some particular aspect of your world. Then you can follow through on that commitment with the time, energy, and resources available to you.

Make note of what worries you, and determine what you can do about it. Then leave the worry behind by virtue of your positive actions.

— Ralph Marston

Having things go your way
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Are you holding yourself hostage to forces you cannot control? Are your happiness and self-esteem based on the random whims of fate?

Don’t make yourself and your effectiveness dependent on always having things go your way. Because things are not always going to go your way.

It is precisely when things are not going your way that you need to be at your best. By detaching from your outcomes you empower yourself to create more favorable outcomes.

Sure, it’s great when life unfolds in accordance with your desires. But because there are so many factors you cannot control, that’s not always going to happen.

Rather than cursing your fate every time something goes wrong, here’s a better approach. Accept what has happened, look realistically at your best options, and take positive action.

By acknowledging that many things are out of your control, you’re able to focus on what you can control. Do that, and you can cause a lot more situations to turn in your favor.

— Ralph Marston