By Brenda Black
A new year begins. It must start
somewhere. According to history, January 1, fits the bill. When Roman
dictator Julius Caesar decided that the traditional Roman calendar
needed reform, he enlisted the aid of Sosigenes, an Alexandrian
astronomer. He advised Caesar to follow the solar year, like the
Egyptians. The year was calculated to be 365 and 1/4 days, and Caesar
added 67 days to 45 B.C., making 46 B.C. begin on January 1. There
you have it – a start, a beginning that begins each year.
Like the flipping of the calendar page
from 2015 to 2016, every journey, each ending and all plans have a
genesis. The fact is that nothing happens unless it is initially put
into motion. On January 1, the timing is right, the opportunity
present annually at this traditional moment to set a course of
action. It's time again to S-T-A-R-T.
S – Set a goal. The go-to
resolutions typically involve weight or bad habits humans long to
banish from their lives. The idea is simple: eliminate the
accumulation of a lifetime of poor choices in 12 months or less. By
week six, we're not sure why we even tried. This year, I challenge
you to think deeper. Plan longer. Look higher and cast a vision
different from all those ventured in the past. Dream big! Don't just
toss up flippantly the hope that something will change. Set a goal to
see something through. Go for it!
T – Take a chance. Do something
unexpected, unrehearsed or unfamiliar in 2016 that will stretch you
out of your comfort zone. Shake it up a bit and try something new
that isn't all about you. Reach out and help someone in need. Forgive
someone unworthy of your grace. Extend an offer that can never be
repaid. Take a chance on someone who needs a second chance and you
might just find you are the one being set free.
A – Answer a call. Now go bigger
still. See your small gestures grow into a mission that changes not
just one or two lives, but a community. With every act of mercy or
aid, see the greater possibilities of how to expand your territory
and answer many needs.
R – Raise the bar. Keep it up and
set an example. Model being a good neighbor, provide an example of
generosity and challenge yourself to always be kind. You are what the
world needs most, more now than ever. Set the pace so that others
will follow.
T – Take stock. When you look back
over this year, count the cost as gain, not loss. See your efforts as
investments into lives. With every goal you set, each risk you
encounter, the call you answer and the role you play, you are sure to
look at the world differently by 2017. And the one most altered will
be the man or woman in the mirror that you see come next New Year's
Day.
Start somewhere. Start now. Make this
year the beginning of something worthwhile.
