This is the beginning of a new day.
God has given me this
day to use as I will.
I can waste it or use it
for good
What I do today is very
important because I am
exchanging a
day of my life for it.
When tomorrow comes,
this day will be gone forever,
leaving
something in its place I have traded for it
I want it to be gain not
loss...
Good not evil...
Success, not failure...
In order that I shall
not forget the price I paid for it.
-Anon
We could easily
substitute the word year where the word day appears in the poem above. We all
have the chance to start anew when a new year begins. In order to do so we have
to overcome some natural tendencies inhibiting change in our personal or
business life. I’ve had the poem on my wall since it was given to me in 1974.
It reminds me daily to use my time wisely. What keeps us from making better use of the
365 days we will all have this year?
I think there is a
tendency for us to think since we do have all those days ahead we’ll relax and
get started “pretty soon.” Unfortunately, “pretty soon” never seems to come. We
wake up later in the year and realize we’re once again victim of the same old
habits hindering us before. Procrastination has kept us from making the gains
we had planned. We all have had those things we’ll do when “we get around to
it.” Early in my insurance career I was given “a round tuit”, a circular,
washer-like object meant to remind me to “get around to it!!” I often think of
the little tuit and it has served its original purpose many times.
Someone has said
insanity is doing the same thing we’ve always done and expecting different
results. Each day we must decide what we want to use the day for. What are the
two or three things we must accomplish and then what else would we like to do
if there is some time left over. A successful year is just a series of
successful days and weeks. The key is as the poem says choosing what will be
done. Once the choice is made we can move on with the task.
No matter how well we
use the time we also need to be flexible. We can get so organized and
structured that no time is left for our personal priorities. From time to time
take a break, re-evaluate, smell the coffee, and move forward. Life’s too short
to not enjoy the journey. Getting a breather often leaves us refreshed and able
to get more focused. We can get things accomplished and still enjoy the ride.
Inspirational post,
ReplyDeleteWith all of the reasons (excuses) that I have for not reaching my goals this year this has made me understand that I need to put them behind me and strive to accomplish and improve in the new year. Also It took me a second to figure out what a "round tuit" was before reading on but once I figured it out I had to order one and I know that their will be nothing that I cant accomplish in 2012 once I get a round toit.
Myesha Robertson
DeleteI can personally relate to everything that was stated in the "Starting Fresh" blog. I am also guilty of procrastinating each year with the very same New year's resolution. This year I took the initiative to get started the very moment that I thought about it. Rather than saying I will wait until Sunday since it is a new week, I started my diet on a Tuesday. I am proud of myself for jumping in head first and sticking with my original plan. I know that you cannot keep doing the same thing and expect different results, so hopefully I will reap the benefits of making a drastic lifestyle change.
I feel that procrastination really does not effect my work life as much as it does when it comes to things that need to be done at home. But with the start if the new year I have began to set a time each day to accomplish more when I am home. This has seem to work for me but still slack a little from time to time. I guess I should not expect perfection right off hand
ReplyDeleteOver Christmas break, if we’re not out of the country, we try and do some projects around the house. This year, it was painting interior walls, changing hardware in a bathroom and organizing the storage room. This sets the new year off on the right foot and motivates us to keep a good stride in our ‘honey do’ tasks. If we fall behind on projects, it just makes it that much harder to get back into the groove of things because we feel overwhelmed. The same can certainly be said of our professional lives, the more we allow tasks to pile up, the harder it is to clear them out.
ReplyDeleteI like this poem. As you posted, it helps remind us to use our time wisely. We often take for granted the things we have. Time is one of them. When we run out of it, we want more. I think more so than creating resolutions and goals at the beginning of each year, we reflect on what we have and the time and relationship we had with others. Before we know it, time is gone, and broken goals and New Years resolutions are not as meaningful as the time spent in our relationships.
ReplyDeleteIt is not always to to remember what is most important in life. It has taken to this last birthday (which ended in zero) to really stop and take a look at where things are. My oldest started high school and my youngest started middle school. It has gone to fast and soon college is calling. I think we have to be reminded daily about the important things in life. Each of us respond to that differently. We need to find that, like having it in print to read, that life is short, no matter how long we live.
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ReplyDeleteOne thing good about a new year is starting fresh... We can evaluate our previous year and assess how we measured up to previously set goals and the things we accomplished. This gives us a basis for setting new goals for the year to come. Getting started on day one and evaluating the goals regularly as to not let them slip behind which is the key to staying on track. I always like new years and for me this one is looking really good. - Dave
ReplyDeleteI have always lived to be more successful tomorrow then I was today. I like the process of trying to improve on something or making the process better. A person can live in the now and future or live in the past. To me success is living, this world has more evil than good and if I can be successful and make a change for the good then I have living.
ReplyDeleteJames
I try to make a list of things that are important and go from there. I know the time I exchange for them and hope I can affect others better by accomplishing what I need to. Right now I have three thing to do daily for a month. Clean the house, exercise, and study. If I can do this I hope as I add more these can be habits.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting outlook on our day to day life. It makes me think about how lucky I really am to have a great career and family. It also make me think about how my relax time can run a bit too long and "I'll get to it later" never comes. With a little disciple I'll be able to not put off things tomorrow that I can do today.
ReplyDeleteProcrastination is something that I always struggle with. I like to make lists that help me remember what I need to get done, but often those lists remain unfinished. I think you comment in another post of :just doing it" is the right way to go about things. Putting off the hard stuff is the easiest thing to do, but we often forget how free we feel once the hard stuff is out of the way. I can't remember which school book I read it is, but doing the hard stuff first is the best way to go about things. Then you feel more relaxed and can really enjoy the things you want to do.
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