Following a night of teeming rain, power outages and a doorbell that mysteriously sounded no less than 10 times, sleep was short-lived last night.
When I cracked three eggs for breakfast – which I’ve done without issue nearly each workday morning for the past several months – I had to spend time fishing out part of one shell from the pan and cleaning egg off the stove when it nearly exploded upon opening.
My wife was already cranky from lack of sleep and I still had another 45-minute commute to my office, so to combat what had clearly been a difficult start to a new day, I didn’t yell or take out my frustration on anyone else.
I just started over.
I told my wife and oldest son, “Ok. This day is beginning again right now.”
I took a deep breath, realized these issues weren’t really that important after all and began anew.
Throughout this blog, we’ve talked about best practices that make lasting, impactful changes in our lives. But too often we believe they only relate to massive, life-altering experiences. Change can happen in an instant, but it doesn’t mean it has to always be a moment we’ll remember forever.
The changes we make can be as simple as taking a new route to work, deciding to change our brand of cereal or waking 10-minutes earlier each day. And when the invariable roadblock occurs and frustration ensues, we can find a better approach and just start over.
I truly believe the most important aspect of anyone’s life is directly controlling our future from the choices we decide to make. Starting over when seemingly all is failing around us is just one of those choices.
Forget frustration, forget quitting. Just like children who declare a “do-over” during games, there’s no limit to how many times we start over, as long as they result in positive movement toward achieving our goals.
In the end, as long as there’s no cheating involved, it’s not important how we reach the summit. It’s just important that we reach it at all.
Make today better than yesterday, but not as great as tomorrow!
Chris Errington is a husband, dad, writer, seeker of truth and fervent believer in the power of utilizing best practices to live a more balanced and enjoyable life. When I’m not rooting for the Steelers and West Virginia University or fretting over the grass in the front/back yards, I’m working my plan to live my ultimate goal – Writing remotely from the deck of a 38-foot sloop while sailing throughout the Caribbean. Getting my wife to agree is another matter entirely.
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