Daily Reflections for Living Strong

Do not seek to be free of the problems. Work to be stronger than the problems.

A life with no problems would be a life with no opportunities for growth or achievement. That’s not what you want, and it is certainly not realistic.

In the real world there are difficult problems, and there will always be. Yet there are also countless possibilities for progress and true fulfillment.

Don’t waste your time fantasizing about a life free of problems. Instead, use your imagination and your efforts to transform problems into positive value.

Embrace each situation as it is, along with all the problems. Accept that the problems exist, and you can then begin to successfully work through them.

Life will always be challenging in one way or another. So rise to the challenges and use your unique set of abilities to make life great.

Discipline is a matter of choice. You can discipline yourself now, or you can have a much harsher discipline imposed on you later. You can create the consequences, or you can suffer the consequences. Whatever you do, the consequences will come, so doesn’t it make sense to put yourself in control of them?

Self discipline can often be painful and tedious. That’s why so many people, unfortunately, avoid it. Yet in the long run, it is by far the easier and more pleasant choice.

Are you building for the future with disciplined effort today? The positive efforts of today will be magnified and compounded tomorrow. Yet if you wait until tomorrow to take action, you lose the powerful leverage that time can give you.

Take advantage of the great opportunity to take disciplined effort right now. Work to build your future rather than being burdened by it. Today is the perfect time to start.

You don’t have to be annoyed. You can be inspired.

You don’t have to be frustrated. You can be motivated and determined.

The way you respond is not dictated solely by the situation. The way you respond is decided by you.

No matter what has happened, your attitude is a choice that’s made by you. Instead of letting the interruptions, distractions and frustrations get you down, you can just as realistically choose to let them push you forward.

It’s natural to assume that negativity must make you negative, and that you must have some kind of positive reinforcement in order to be positive. But that’s not the case at all, because you can choose to move positively forward no matter what.

Decide that you’ll let both the good things and the bad things push you ahead. And be amazed at how far you can go.

When the journey becomes difficult, that’s no reason to give up and quit. In fact, it means you’re making real progress.

The mountain becomes more rugged and steep the closer you get to the summit. So keep going, keep climbing, keep making the effort, and soon you’ll find yourself reaching the top.

The challenges you encounter are unquestionable proof that you’re making a positive difference. Make use of those challenges, not as an excuse to stop or quit, but rather as a platform from which to push forward.

For the greatest achievements come in response to the greatest challenges. When the going gets rough, you are most certainly in the presence of profound opportunity.

When there is much that must be done, there is enormous value waiting to be created. Step boldly forward and claim that value.

Whatever may come, whatever may seem to block your path, choose to keep moving. There are truly magnificent rewards just on the other side of your persistent efforts.

Don’t stop. Don’t quit. Keep moving.

Don’t make a bad thing worse by continuing to be upset about it. Get over it and rise above it.

From time to time you’re going to be inconvenienced, insulted, distracted, taken advantage of, or worse. Quickly, decisively deal with the situation, get some distance from it, let it go and press on.

If you’re not in a position to do anything positive about it, then accept it. Direct your focus to the good and useful things you can do.

Of course there are going to be things that will upset you. However you have nothing to gain by continuing to remind yourself how much you dislike them.

Choose not to waste your time and energy assembling a collection of grievances. You have so many better things to do.

Spend each day living and doing, not whining and complaining. Rise above the foolishness and live every moment on your own best terms.

There is what happens. Then there is what you do with what happens.

Helpful, hurtful, caring, indifferent, frustrating, joyful, surprising, predictable things happen to everyone. Each person makes something different out of all those things.

You are not special because you are a victim or a beneficiary of circumstance. You are special because of the unique life, the substance, the richness you carve out of your circumstances.

Pay attention to the situation, to what goes on in the world around you. See each situation not as a locked enclosure, but as a starting point, a stage upon which you can express and fulfill your purpose.

Life is demanding, extremely difficult at times, but life never imposes itself on you. On the contrary, every twist and turn of circumstance provides opportunity for you to more fully become your best.

Welcome that opportunity, in whatever form it may arrive. Every moment carries your best possibilities, ready for you to fulfill.

When the bad stuff gets worse, you can get better. When hope is nowhere to be found, you can create a whole lot of it.

You don’t have to deny reality in order to be positive. You just have to be willing to change reality, and you can.

You can think, you can act, you can learn, you can adjust, you can dream, you can do, you can persist and you can help. There are a thousand ways for you to make a significant positive difference today, tomorrow and in the future.

There’s more to greatness than just looking good as you sail through life. True greatness is built in times of adversity by refusing to accept the finality of that adversity and by working to turn life around.

The world could use a little true greatness from you right now. Use your intelligence, your passion and your energy to push life in a positive direction.

Push life in a positive direction, and keep pushing. This great experience of life is ready for you to make it even greater.

If everything works out the way you planned, that’s great. If things don’t work out as planned, that can be great, too, because it opens up new possibilities to you.

Give your best thought, effort and attention to the factors that you can control. And give your full acceptance to the factors you cannot control.

What’s the best response when some unforeseen event beyond your control prevents things from working out as you planned? Accept the situation, find the very best of the new possibilities that have been created, and move forward with them.

Acceptance of what has happened does not mean that you agree with it or that you resign yourself to live with it. Acceptance means that you see it for what it is and make positive use of it.

Instead of constantly worrying that something will come along to disrupt your plans, remind yourself that you can adapt to whatever may happen. Instead of being paralyzed by the fear of what you cannot control, be confident in knowing that even the most difficult situations harbor positive possibilities.

Learn not to fight against what has already happened or to be stopped by what might. Instead, choose to accept what is and to use it as a springboard for magnificent success

By its very nature, life is dynamic. That makes it impossible to truly stand still.

If you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind. So every day, in some way or another, take action to move your life forward.

Just a small improvement, just a subtle positive step, is infinitely preferable to doing nothing. Always, there is some little something you can do to better your life and your world.

What can you do right now to solve a problem that’s been frustrating you? What step can you take in the next few minutes that will bring you closer to the accomplishment of an important goal?

There is something you can do, and those small efforts quickly add up as time goes on. So instead of complaining that you can’t get it all accomplished at once, do a little bit, and then do it again.

Always, your life is filled with energy, and is moving in one direction or another. Harness that energy, align it with your highest purpose, and proceed constantlyin the direction of your hope, your dreams and your aspirations.

There is a route to success that is available to just about everyone. It is persistence. No matter what your level of skill or experience, no matter how knowledgeable you are or aren’t, when you continue making the effort for as long as it takes, you’ll get where you’re determined to go.

Persistence does not require any special talent. There’s really nothing to stop you from persisting with one possible exception — discouragement. But what is discouragement? Does it really need to have any power over your actions. Should you allow it to dictate your future? Does it make any sense for your discouragement about the past to prevent you from going forward toward the goals you desire?

Discouragement has exactly the amount of power you give it. And guess what? You don’t need it. It won’t bring you anything positive. So go beyond it. Persist in your efforts. Forget about the disappointments. Look resolutely at what’s ahead, at all the great things that are possible. Keep going, today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.