Happy New Day: the gift of a fresh start every single morning!

Day one. A new beginning. A fresh start. Oh, and by the way, I’m not talking about January 1st!!!

Many years ago, while I was still working on recovering from an eating disorder, someone shared a little nugget of wisdom with me that I have held onto tightly ever since. It serves as a powerful reminder that all we truly have is THIS day. The words they shared emphasized that this moment, the one we are present in right now, is what counts. No matter what happened yesterday or what may lie ahead tomorrow, by focusing on what we have here and now, we are blessed with the freedom to live our best life. Although their context was related to recovery, this message is applicable to everyday life and one I chose to embrace each and every morning.

The words they shared were, “the person who has the most recovery is the one who got up the earliest.” Think about that for a moment! While minutes add up to hours, hours become days, and days turn into weeks, by focusing our attention from the length of time to embracing what truly counts, we gain the strength to find success in every single day and where there is no room for the word “failure” to even exist!

Each morning, we have the opportunity to decide how our day will unfold. Sure, we may have school, a job, appointments, or responsibilities to uphold, but beyond those obligations, the rest of the day is entirely in our control. We get to choose our attitude, outlook, and mindset, and with that choice comes the power to steer our day toward calm and peace or chaos and stress. The true gift is that we can make that decision each and every morning.

When we view life through this lens, we realize that while accumulated success is beneficial, one challenging day does not equate to failure. In fact, even if our morning was rough, we can still choose to navigate the rest of the day with a renewed attitude, allowing us to end it feeling accomplished.

And so today, January 1st 2025, what are you choosing to do that will make THIS day one to remember and one that, as you head to bed, you can look back on with joy in all that you accomplished? On this day, as you savor in the freedom of knowing what went before is in some ways irrelevant - because today is what truly counts - what will you strive to accomplish with the opportunities that await? You see, every day is a day that brings the promise of a fresh, blank canvas, a canvas that you can use to paint the most beautiful picture based on the experiences you grasp today.

Every day, we are blessed in our hearts with a gift called choice; what we choose to do with that precious gift lies in our hands alone. And so go, seize THIS day with renewed enthusiasm and determination to make it extraordinary.

Happy New DAY, my friends, happy new day!