It is never too late to reset, to choose a different reaction or direction
Years ago, my father told me that every new moment could be a new beginning; that the past didn’t matter. He’d probably embraced that philosophy to counter the reversals he faced. After being bombed during the war, he left the ruins of his homeland to make a new life on the other side of the world – with only a few possessions and the clothes he wore. And then he was shipwrecked – he was fortunate to survive.
This week, I was reminded by Sameer Nagarajan that every new moment offers the chance to mentally begin anew. He referenced this poem by Arnold Bennett, an English novelist and playwright:
The chief beauty about time
is that you cannot waste it in advance.
The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you,
as perfect, as unspoiled,
as if you had never wasted or misapplied
a single moment in all your life.
You can turn over a new leaf every hour
if you choose.
Arnold Bennett
Each year, December 31 heralds resolution season
Every year, many in our culture make one, or several New-Year resolutions, thinking firmly, “This year …
Resolution-forming has generated an industry of coaches who help us set goals. We draw up lists, refining and time-tabling their new goals while blowing dust off the exercise machine.
What resolutions should we make? How many? Should there be one in each area of life, such as work, relationships, recreation, and so on?
There is plenty of encouragement available. You can buy journals to write your resolutions in, and hire one of those coaches to hold you accountable if you don’t follow through. Of course, a coach can’t fire you from being you, so there’s not a lot they can do if you goof off, or simply forget – or decide the goal wasn’t that important anyway.
If you’re wondering which resolutions will get you in shape faster – for whatever you have in mind – ideas are everywhere.
- “Supercharge your week with these ten actions every morning”
- “Do this each weekend to recharge”
- “Make a decision to start your day fast by getting to work at 4am”
These routines probably do supercharge, recharge, and start days fast. I know my day seems to have a lot more hours in it if I get up earlier. But lists and routines overwhelm some people. I can forget to see a routine through even if I set an alarm as a reminder – because at the moment the alarm goes off, something else seems more important..
Habits and routines are – by definition – specific actions repeated. Some people want variety and have no interest in repeating the same actions continually – they want to try new things. They may well recognise the benefit that a consistently-followed routine will bring, but still won’t follow one.
It isn’t January, but I’m making a resolution
I will do ONE very specific thing tomorrow.
I’ve avoided doing this thing in many periods of my life – to my detriment. However, now that I’m older and – possibly – wiser, I know it will make a real difference to my progress, and so I’ve committed myself. Of course I could still fail. But I am thinking of success right now, not failure. I will do this ONE thing.
I will keep my word to myself.
When we work for others, and finish tasks we agree to do, it makes a difference. When we turn up when we said we would, people notice. If we begin delivering on time, those we’ve let down might slowly rebuild their trust.
By keeping our word, we become known as reliable, conscientious and honest – just from keeping our word. If we do it regularly, our standing goes up. Little by little, we become recognised and valued. These are results worth having. To achieve them, we only have to be aware of our capabilities, and stay within them, so we don’t promise things we can’t deliver.
But I’m not doing this to raise my standing in the eyes of others. I’m doing it to raise it in my own eyes.
If my broken agreements and the commitments I’ve not met could be spread across a beach, the place would look like a storm had hit. Over my life to date, there are more than a few. And every new time I fail to follow through, I lose a little more endurance. Giving up becomes easier. So I’m going to focus on that ONE thing – keeping my word to myself.
If I tell myself that today I’ll … then I make sure I do.
This ONE thing changes lives
You could do it too.
Keep your word to yourself. It will strengthen your belief in your capabilities. Your reliability matters to others – but it should matter a lot more to you. If you trust yourself to deliver, no matter what happens, you’ll try more, and you’ll achieve more.
Every win you have will strengthen your resolve that any time you decide to do something, you’ll do it. Then resolutions become meaningful. And you might make more of them.
If nothing else, do that ONE thing.
It will change your life.