Don’t Forget About the Other 364 Days of 2017
Yes, it’s over.
Actually it was over the moment it hit 12:00 AM and for some it wasn’t over soon enough.
Some of you weren’t able to ride the wave of the New Year and maybe you never have. Maybe the New Year’s has always been associated with failure, disappointment, or even a dark time in your life.
As a scholar, a cynic, or a realist, you’ve seen the flaw in the momentum of the New Year spirit and despise its rallying of short-lived energy. Or much more simply, you just don’t care for the hullabaloo of parties.
Then again, you could be like me and you started emptying your mind, reflecting on the past year, and planning for the New Year since Christmas.
But here’s the problem I’ve run into and I’m betting I’m not the only one.
Some of you have already fallen back into your old state of mind, turning back from the goals you set for yourselves.
It could be something as simple as expressing the sorry that’s been weighing on our hearts or waking up an hour earlier. And yes, the person that just popped into your head is that person.
You’ve pushed back reconnecting with friends in the name of readiness or time and starting that book has made its way all the way to the bottom of the resolutions list.
You’ve pushed the gym to tomorrow saying your body is still adjusting and you’ve fallen back into your addictions may it be smoking, binge watching TV, drinking too much, or just being lazy.
You slipped up and you’re letting depression, anxiety, and shame trample on all your hopes and expectations for the New Year.
You’re all over yourself for not staying accountable for the things you swore you would commit to and now it seems like you have to wait until 2018.
Now this isn’t to exclude those of you who might not have had a fighting chance at all. Maybe 2016 really has been a dark and difficult year filled with grief and trial, none of which I’ll try to minimize or understand.
But here’s the thing, “THAT’S OK.”
As a matter of fact, it’s not only OK that 2017 didn’t start off the way you hoped but the idea that it’s a precursor of how the rest of your year will be is completely wrong.
Because 2017, like every other year we’ve lived isn’t going to be defined by the loftiness of the goals you set but by what you do every day.
Your inability to fulfill what you promised yourself doesn’t eliminate you from the race. It doesn’t determine the remaining 361 days of the year.
So whether you fell short of your plans and goals from day 1 or you avoided it altogether, don’t allow yourself to indulge in the withdrawal effects of the New Year steroid culture injects itself with.
Just know that today and tomorrow are just as important if not more important than January 1st.
The precedence we set starts with your mindset every morning, not just on those special days.
