Today's Thought: April 9th

Talk doesn't cook rice.
--Chinese proverb

Some of us are crazy about self-help books, inspirational tapes, and personal improvement seminars. We'll buy or sign up for anything, whatever the price, if it promises revolutionary insights or a foolproof new system. We want relief in a day and deliverance in a weekend. And we want the expert of the hour to do it for us.

There's nothing wrong with wishing, of course. But there's a lot wrong with kidding ourselves as a way of life. Think about it: If progress could be bought, we wouldn't need to be meditating. If personal transformation resulted from collecting new ideas, we'd have been transformed long ago. Exploring is great. And looking for all the inspiration and wisdom we can find is necessary for growth. But changing is doing. All the plans and schemes for improvement put together won't change a thing if we don't put the principles into daily practice. Even catchy words are just words.

Today, I will take the best plan I have and put it into action. Today, I will say less and do more.

You are reading from the book:


Days of Healing, Days of Joy by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty

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I have a friend who I speak to constantly...........she's been 'trying' to recover from compulsive overeating for years. She refuses to do the work, however, and looks for a magic wand to 'fix' her issues.  She would like to accomplish many things, and winds up accomplishing nothing because she refuses to stop THINKING and start DOING.  She waits for 'motivation' .......... which, for most of us, turns into a very long wait!

Good actions create good thoughts, not the other way around.  DO it and then the good thoughts come!

She lets the laundry pile up. She refuses to clean the house. She won't do the footwork required to get her home business working properly. She won't stick her food plan for abstinence, and is constantly making excuses to binge.

She tells me these things and says What's Wrong With Me? When I tell her to stop kidding herself as a way of life and pull a Nike: Just. Do. It., she gets angry, shuts down, and stops speaking to me!

She doesn't need 'tough love', she tells me.  Oh really? What IS needed her, I wonder?

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over & over again, expecting different results.

Today is the day to STOP wishing and to start DOING! To make a life for ourselves that we WANT and that we DESERVE. 

Today is the day to stop collecting new ideas and to begin transforming.

Changing comes from doing. All the plans and schemes for improvement put together won't change a thing if we don't put the principles into daily practice. 

Today, lets take the best plan we have and put it into ACTION. For today, let's say less and do more!

 You can do anything

Somewhere deep inside, you know you can do anything. But it's frightening, uncomfortable and inconvenient to think about, so you choose to pretend it's not true.

It is very easy and comforting to make excuses. So all too often, that's all that ever happens.

But what if you decided to stop arguing in favor of your limitations? What if you made the choice to allow your life to fulfill your greatest possibilities?

When you stop complaining that you can't, is when you can. When you stop defending your lack of progress, you can begin to make incredible progress.

Yes, life is tough and filled with all sorts of big, imposing challenges. And it is precisely by choosing to work through those challenges that you can do anything, anything you truly desire.

Sure, absolutely, it's much easier said than done. Yet this is your life, and you deserve all the richness that comes when you allow yourself to live it fully.

Ralph Marston - The Daily Motivator