Well, we made it. Another year in the can. Might depend on how you define “can.” For some folks that’s a term for the toilet. Here’s hoping 2023 wasn’t THAT bad.
Have you noticed – if you write out today in numbers it’s 12-31-23. Or its 1-2-3-1-2-3. Makes us want to go dancing or something. Allegedly couples are hurrying to the quickie altars in Las Vegas today to get married on such a numeric day. Then they’ll hurry to the slot machines and probably lose it all. Good luck to them.
How did your 2023 go? This is the day we usually lament on what happened – or DIDN’T happen – in the past calendar year. A lot of lamenting, not that much celebrating. Oh sure, most of us will stay up till midnight with a drink and hopefully a loved one, maybe share a kiss in the first few seconds of the “new year,” then stagger off to bed.
And only the next morning will we realize – yep, another day. Forget the new year – January 1 is the same as December 31.
Do you do resolutions? Scott here – no way. They never stick. One study says people give up on them by January 19. Heck, that late? Right now I resolve to to stay awake till midnight tonight, and that one’s shaky,
So here’s to a new year, for whatever that’s worth. Maybe a better idea – resolve on what you’ll get accomplished THIS WEEK. Make a list today since it’s a Sunday, the traditional first day of the week. What can you get done between now and Saturday? Could be something around the house, or something at work, or something with the kids, etc.
One of my favorite riddles is an old one – how do you eat an elephant? That big giant elephant standing in front of you – how could you possible ingest all that?
Most people see that huge elephant – or that huge task – and give up immediately. Too big, too impossible. Never happen.
Instead the answer to the riddle “how do you eat an elephant?” It’s simple – one bite at a time.
There’s a lesson we can all learn. Teach this one to the kids. You get to an ultimate goal by taking one bite at a time, one step at a time, one small success at a time.
Remember the P words – patience, persistence, perseverance. Keep swinging, keep trying. Note what didn’t work so you know in the future not to try those again. One step at a time and you’ll get there. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, followed by a whole lot of steps until you DO reach that final destination. Then take some time to celebrate your success.
That’s what we’ve been doing at 98.7 The Fox. Baby steps, our mantra since we launched in August. We’ve had some stumbling blocks along the way and figured we would. We’ve overcome some of them, some still remain, but onward we continue. Not a year at a time, more like a week at a time, sometimes even a day at a time. No grand slam home runs, just a string of singles and walks and stolen bases that eventually score runs that eventually win games. There, a perfect analogy for a primarily sports talk radio station.
The “new year” 2024 will be much the same. For yours truly here I have a serious hearing problem to overcome, if you were listening two weeks ago. Yeah. sometimes I’ve allowed it to drag me down. Then I remember the elephant riddle – one step at a time. With help from some top medical professionals I will get past this. It’ll take nearly all of 2024 to get there but the goal is set. It won’t be easy and at times I’ll feel like this isn’t worth it, why not just quit? A real slog.
But hope spring eternal, another saying. I’ll get there, with help from family and friends. And occasional sleep..
One week at a time, sometimes even one day at a time. A much better plan for achieving goals. Even write them down, on real paper with a real pen. Forget the electronic stuff – sometimes old school still works best. And then check off on the paper when a goal has been accomplished – that feeling of “got that one” still resonates inside, a good feeling.
So here’s to a new calendar year – woo hoo. Big deal. Better yet – here comes a new WEEK, so what can you do with it? Or what can I get finished on TUESDAY? Start your planning now…