There’s
a saying out there: “Today’s the first
day of the rest of your life.” Some of
us embrace that message and some us don’t really appreciate the power in those
words. This saying tells us that
whatever happened before – good , bad, or nothing at all – doesn’t matter and
that we have a clean slate. A fresh
start. It also tells us to be forward-thinking, to not look back. It reminds us that life has begun and each day is
precious, for a tomorrow will again be the first day of the rest of our
life. Who knows how long we shall live?
We
also hear the phrase: “Live each day as
if it were your last.” This is intended
for us to embrace the moment, almost to the disregard of tomorrow. It says do
something today; don’t wait for tomorrow that may never come. It says breathe in the air and soak up the
sun for who knows how you’ll feel tomorrow.
It says take a risk or chance, but it also tells us to be borderline
reckless. I mean, if tomorrow wasn’t
coming, we’d most certainly live today far differently than in years past.
The
other day I sat in my temple and observed and celebrated the new year. No, it’s not New Year’s Eve 2020 just
yet. But the Jewish calendar says it’s
the year 5780. The Chinse New Year will
be celebrated in February and I’m sure other cultures and faiths honor the new
year at different moments. But whether
you are Jewish or not, the holiday reminds me that any day can be the beginning
of a new year, that we can live moving forward, maybe even break from the past, and take a risk on a new venture.
We
need new starts, whether we initiate them or the calendar does. We need a point in time to reflect, to
regroup, to recommit to our purpose. For
authors, the eye is always on the prize:
write, get published, sell books, build the brand, and impact others with
our writings. So, today, on your first day of a new year and the first day of the rest of your life, what are you prepared
to do, stop, change, or question? What
will be different and better today? Who
will help you? What’s the next step for
you to take?
Graduations,
weddings, new jobs, and other milestone events – having kids, moving, meeting
new people – each give us a boost or a fresh start and a new way to see
things. How many starts do we each get
and what do we do with them?
Today,
let’s declare, can be a fresh start for you.
Give yourself permission to absolve yourself of the failures,
shortcomings, negative events or angry moments that have shackled you. Distance yourself from anything that did not
go according to plan. Recommit, renew,
and resolve to do what it takes to succeed.
Carve a plan that fits your passions and reach just beyond your
perceived capabilities. Surprise
yourself. Go off-script. Write a new chapter for your life -- now – today. And again tomorrow.
Easier
said than done, I know. But why saddle
yourself with psychological, emotional or intellectual debt? Just move forward and build on what is good
and working – and abandon what is holding you back or just doesn’t serve you well.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
“Not ignorance, but
ignorance of ignorance, is the death of knowledge.”
--Alfred
North Whitehead
“A man is wealthy in
proportion to the things he can do without.”
--Epicurus
“We need the books
that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of
someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from
everyone, like a suicide. A book must be
an axe for the frozen sea inside us.”
--Kafka
“Certain books form a
treasure, a basis, once read they will serve you for the rest of your lives.”
--Ezra
Pound
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