Mikes Blog

Escaping from ego
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Your ego pushes you to appear impressive. Yet that same ego prevents you from being truly impressive.

To the extent you can, get your ego out of the way. Rather than forcing a contrived image of yourself, allow and enable your authentic beauty to shine through.

Before you speak, tell yourself that what you have to say doesn’t matter. That takes all the pressure off and gives you permission to speak your highest truth.

Before you act, tell yourself that what others think of you doesn’t matter. That allows you to go forward with sincerity and confidence.

Making things all about you is severely limiting. Stepping as far as possible away from your ego is highly liberating.

Be you, without being focused on you. Feel the freedom of escaping from ego, and experience all the advantages that brings.

— Ralph Marston

Power of thought
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If your thoughts are working against you, stop having those particular thoughts. Make the intentional choice to think other thoughts.

If your thoughts are overwhelming your awareness and alertness, back away from those thoughts. You can do less thinking and analyzing, and more observing, acting and experiencing.

Thinking is an extremely powerful, useful, beneficial skill. Yet like any powerful force, it can be destructive when carried to the extreme.

Your thinking is an important part of your life. Yet it is not the entirety of your life.

With the power of thought, you can think yourself into anything. Be sure to exercise control over that power, so your thoughts lead you to positive outcomes.

Don’t let your thoughts get the best of you. Instead, harness them to make yourself the best you can be.

— Ralph Marston

Do what you can
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You may not have much time to get it done, yet you do have some time. Use the time you have.

You may not get it perfect, yet you can get it done. Do what you can, the best that you can, with the time and resources available.

You may not be able to think of the cleverest way to say what you want to say, yet you do have the opportunity to say something. Say what you mean to say, in whatever way you can think to say it.

Let the desire for excellence drive you to do your best work. But don’t let it become an excuse for you to avoid the work.

The highest commitment to excellence is meaningless if you don’t do anything to express that excellence. Do the work, bring that excellence into being at whatever level you can.

Every stretch of time, every situation, every challenge, every desire is an opportunity to make a difference. Though it may not be perfect, use what you have and do what you can.

— Ralph Marston

Difference of perspective
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What you say is not what other people hear you say. What you hear other people say is not what they intend to say.

Everyone has various lenses, filters, biases, and perspectives through which they experience life. It’s an aid to understanding to keep that in mind.

Before you dismiss anyone as an idiot or praise anyone as a genius, catch yourself. Use your intellect and energy to more fully understand the content rather than to prematurely label its source.

You cannot remove yourself from your own perspective. You can, however, remind yourself that it’s always there.

If possible, in your own words repeat back what you heard, and ask if you understood correctly. Seek to clarify and better understand before you make any judgment.

Words have precise meanings, yet life experience and context can significantly expand and even alter those meanings. Speak clearly, listen carefully, then go as far as possible beyond the words to foster true and helpful understanding.

— Ralph Marston