Last Stop

Hop on

For a fair number of people, today is their "last day." Last day to overindulge, last day to smoke, last day to drink, bite their nails, leave their novel unfinished. It's the deadline ploy played out in calendar years. It's the ultimate in ultimatums. And it's bullsh%t.

One of the things about going through significant life decisions is that you come to realize just how much you can control, if you choose to act. At the same time you come to realize just how flimsy excuses really are. Work, stress, concern for others, extended responsibilities. Once the decision has been made-- acknowledged, accepted, and acted upon-- everything else falls away. The excuses reveal themselves to be nothing more than distractions, sorry attempts to rationalize a choice one makes not to do something they said they should.  The really sad part is, if you truly want to make a change, to stop, to start, you're the only one to whom it ultimately matters. The excuses are for your exclusive use, mental massage, and don't provide any substantive useful purpose.

So, if 2013 is your year to start exercising, to stop drinking, to stop smoking, to start eating better, sleeping more, spending more time with the family, to write that novel, to pull out that model airplane and finally start putting it together.... then today's the day to do it. Tomorrow is just another day to continue the project. Treat the first of January as what it is: A calendar day. Treat yourself like what you are: Important.

All that aside, I hope 2012 was good to you.