Do Over

I love a fresh start.  I love the start of a new day, with an expanse of time stretched before me, a list of “To Do”s in hand that may or not get done.  I love the start of a new week, full of promises that I will begin a new habit, such as exercise, again.  I love it when the calendar flips and there’s a new month, with it’s annual celebrations and traditions.  I love a new year, a starting point for destinations unknown, a renewal of vows to accomplish new things.

Even though I can’t travel backwards in time, there’s a sense of “mulligan” when a new period of time begins.  What has been done is done and can’t be changed.  What is to come, I have some control over.  Whatever I didn’t like about the way I handled a situation or managed my time yesterday or last week, I can do better this time around.  I can learn from my experience and make today better than yesterday.

Of course, it’s probably one way I tend to procrastinate, also.  I’ll plan to start to work on that project or that habit when I can have a fresh start.  The problem is that there’s always a new time to come that seems more promising than the present, and as the saying goes, “Tomorrow never comes.”

A New Year is approaching, however, and I have big hopes for it.  Instead of making a long list of resolutions, however, I think I’ll buckle down and make some actual goals.  I don’t mean airy, vague goals like “lose some weight” or “read more.”  I mean, looking where I’d like to be ten years down the road and figuring out what I can do today (not tomorrow) to get there.

Maybe I’ll start working on those goals next week.  This week’s way too full!