begin...begin again: advice from a writer

It's time to begin again. A new year is almost upon us. Three hundred and sixty-five blank days stretch out ahead of us...like 365 blank pages. To a writer this is a story waiting to be written, word by word. To an artist--an empty canvas waiting to be painted, stroke by stroke. To a composer--a melody waiting to be composed, note by note.

To each of us--this is time waiting to be lived, moment by moment.

Like a writer sitting down to begin a new story, you may already have a few ideas for the year ahead. Call them resolutions...or dreams...or intentions. Or prayers.

And, like a writer, you may be full of inspiration and enthusiasm as you begin...until, a few weeks or months later, when the story starts to unravel. Your resolutions fade into memory. Your best efforts fail to move you ahead. Your inner critic (rudely) invites himself in, wraps an arm around your shoulders, and breaks the news to you: you're a loser. Nothing you do is ever good enough. You're lazy or weak or stupid. And before long, you start to think you'll never succeed.

Don't believe it for a minute! It's never too late to begin again!

Take some advice from a writer:

revise, revise, revise.

Get some action verbs in there. Some superlatives. Walking and jogging may be better than sitting around, but this is the year you hit the pavement. Rather than rolling out of bed in the morning, seize the day! Instead of dieting, learn to eat whole, green and clean. Do you want to be happy...or elated? Satisfied...or fulfilled? Motivated...or compelled?