What is the difference between a brave man and a coward?
A coward may occasionally rise above his weakness, yet a coward he remains. A brave man is brave until death takes him. True, his courage might dull from time to time under ill-usage or heavy blows, yet it is still courage.
Ultimately, it is a matter of spirit.
Unless we make a sustained & concerted effort to expect only what we want, by default we remain consigned to anticipating a repetition of our personal history – and getting more of The Same.
Think about it; it matters.
In a world that seems determined to draw our attention to the negatives, it can be tough to get & stay positively motivated, let alone inspired.
So here is an easy way to keep motivation and inspiration in play every day:
Try to think in terms of motivation as “I really want to DO ____”, and think in terms of inspiration as “I really want to BECOME ____”.
Now, assuming that you believe that what you think & do every day adds up to Your Life, the path is clear: you first need to identify what truly inspires you, and then find paths to keep you motivated to live up to your inspiration. Simple! 🙂
For example, I happen to be inspired by a specific blend of qualities evinced by Sherlock Holmes, Aristotle, James Bond, the Dalai Lama, and Miyamoto Musashi. So I’m motivated to do certain things in certain ways that will bring me closer to living those qualities myself. But that’s just me.
If you aren’t yet sure how or where to look for your own inspiration, you could do worse than to start by considering the following:
“To love justice, to long for the right, to love mercy, to forget wrongs and remember benefits, to love the truth, to be sincere, to love liberty, to cultivate the mind, to be familiar with the mighty thoughts that genius has expressed, the noble deeds of all the world, to cultivate courage and cheerfulness.”
Remember, it doesn’t really matter what inspires you, as long as you find something that does. And it may change over time – that’s fine too. As long as it speaks to you now, you can rely on it to keep you motivated to get going on what to do today, to live as and become whom you want to be. Because that, friends, is living well!
There is no greater manifestation or expression of Gratitude than to use to the utmost whatever you possess.
Gratitude is about positively taking responsibility for making the most of yourself; it’s all about maximizing yourself.
Sadly, people very often associate Gratitude with Humility, which is in fact the opposite idea of “humbling oneself” – a directive to minimize yourself.
Remember, true Gratitude is not just an emotion, it is an attitude of boldly making the most of what you are and what you’ve got!
Live well.
If you are asking the wrong question, it doesn’t matter how right the answer is.
Personally, I’ve found it invaluable to understand the key difference between Principles and Beliefs. Mayhap you too will find it useful:
Principles reside in our Conscious Mind; Beliefs reside in our Subconscious Mind.
Ahhhhh!…… 🙂