Every day is new. It really is a simple concept; one that has been around for a while. The “Today is the first day of the rest of your life” concept is quite similar. I find that this is the key to moving forward through life as unencumbered as possible. Mastering the every day is new tenet enables forgiveness, renewal, forward thinking, and other very powerful qualities to become regular parts of your life.
Most people carry a lot of emotional and mental baggage around with them. You might begrudge the person at work who did not praise your presentation or who snagged the promotion you were eyeing. Or you might wake up still peeved about a ding you found on your new car the day before. Or perhaps you are worried by a troubling medical test result. No matter how serious or trivial these things may be to others or you, for you they may be taking away valuable mental and emotional resources.
We all have things that worry us. But the trick is to realize that carrying those worries and irritations with us day after day, playing them over and over in our minds, does not allow us to move forward. The only way to move forward in life is to look back ONLY as a way of learning from mistakes or planning for the future. Wishing things turned out different or perseverating about things that are past only serves to hold us back. I can’t count the number of times people have asked me “Why?” this or that happened to them or their loved one? Many times there is no “why” and searching for one does not fix the situation. Check out this story.
When we consider every day as new we can let go of things from the past and leave them there, figuratively and literally. If you were holding a grudge against a friend you will find that the new day can more easily bring forgiveness. If you were upset about a mistake you made, both self-forgiveness as well as the opportunity to either fix the mistake and/or move on with a lesson learned are within your grasp.
Why use the beginning of the day? When we sleep, our minds rest and there is evidence from many sources that we are able to solve problems in our sleep. We are also able to close our eyes on the things that worry and weigh on us (if we can train ourselves to let go – there is always the bad night’s sleep due to over stress.) For most people waking from a good night’s rest does bring a brief sense of a fresh start. The trick is to retain that feeling and NOT banish it with worrying or negative thoughts over what is already done and in the past.
There is much more to the concept that every day is new. If you would like to learn more contact me here. If you would like to schedule a Jar The Ground talk for your organization feel free to contact me via the “Book a Speaking Engagement” menu bar link above.
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