“I want a do-over.”
How many times did you say that as a child? Or hear a friend toss that out on the playground?
Too often, when a game or a situation isn’t turning out the way we’d like, it’s appealing to have a chance to start over and do something different.
I know I’ve wished many times for a do-over, mostly when I made a wrong decision or had been a victim of something I didn’t see coming. Maybe, if I could go back to one minute before that thing happened, I could have avoided it or stopped it from occurring.
Well, since time machines exist only in movies or TV shows, we probably won’t ever get the chance to relive our lives or even moments of it.
But we have the opportunity every day to start over.
January 1 is typically a day when people try to make changes in life, in relationships, in health, in finances, and in about any area that cries out for improvement. But we don’t have to wait for a new year to get a fresh start.
You’ve had many times in your life when you started over: when you entered a new school, a new relationship, a new neighborhood, a new job. At each turn, you began something new. It may have been your choice or someone else’s, like when your parents decided to move when you were twelve. You had no choice but to move with them. And you started over.
Well, you can do it today.
What do you need – really need – to change in your life?
- Changing eating habits to get near your goal weight?
- Exercising regularly to improve your health?
- Applying for a new job?
- Starting a new relationship? Or ending a toxic one?
- Visiting the dentist or doctor that you’ve been avoiding?
- Attending church again?
- Reading your Bible every day?
- Taking time to meet your neighbors?
Think about it. Any one of those items, and many more, could be life-altering and might just set you on the road to a better life.
But you must decide to make a change. Not a “New Year’s Resolution” that you’ll forget about in a few weeks, but a deep-down, gut-twisting decision to change and improve your life.
Look at yourself (in a mirror if that helps) and be honest. What needs to change? And what will it take to change it? Not flipping the calendar. That doesn’t change anything.
But a heartfelt decision to be better, to improve the life you have left (which isn’t long for some of us!) and the will to follow through.
Me? I need to diet, walk more, and connect more with friends and family. I hope I can stick to my guns and really start over.
What will you change and start over?
