I take things seriously, I am a competitive person. If I commit to doing something, I have chosen to enter into a competition with myself at the very basic level. I will continue down the path even if futility is certain. Quitting to me is an abject failure and should be averted at all costs. I believe there is always one last “Hail Mary” in our quiver of life’s arrows. Are you similar to me or is your standard of commitment a variable in an equation that changes by the day, hour, or even minute?

Personally, I know people who fall into each category. I know people who are like me… steadfast in their pursuit of their commitment. I know people who are the complete opposite of me… wishy-washy individuals who throw around the term commitment like yesterday’s worn socks. I know a whole gamut of people in between… that’s where most people are these days. Who is worse, the people who are wishy-washy or the in between commitment makers?

Being that I’m the polar opposite of the wishy-washy person, you may think I believe they are the worst ones… you would be wrong. The fact of the matter is that with the wishy-washy people, you know they will not honor their commitment and if they do, you should view it as a miraculous event… a true bonus in life. The middle of the road commitment makers are the most disturbing group of people to be around. You never know what you’re going to get. Are you going to get the guy who means what he says this time or not? Can you depend on him over the long term or is he just into making commitments for the short term? Or worse yet, is he the person that sometimes shows up and sometimes doesn’t?

Who makes you angrier? At least the wishy-washy commitment maker has his cards on the table and you know what you’re getting. Anger in their direction is your own fault… you shouldn’t have counted on their commitment anyway. Hoping against hope isn’t the answer here, track record is the answer.

I get aggravated, angry, and upset with the middle of the road guys. How can you pick and choose what you are committed to when other people are expecting you to uphold your end of the bargain? Do these people value their time over everyone else’s? What makes them more important than the other people involved in the commitment? I don’t understand the rationale here. If I commit to something, I have undertaken a responsibility and I honor my duty.

Duty, responsibility, and commitment… those are pretty large words in our vapid society today. No longer do the masses respect other people and their sacrifices required to honor their commitments. There’s another large word… respect. We have also thrown around the term honor. Honestly, how often do you see these traits in the world today? I would venture to say that if you have experienced these traits in an individual in your life recently, you probably couldn’t wait to tell the next person in your life about your “awesome” experience. These instances have become increasingly rare, and that’s sad.

Starting right now, think about the commitments in your life, no matter how large or small they may be. If you are not honoring your commitments, think about how your actions are hurting those who have chosen to respect their commitment. You may not be an all in person, all the time, but focus on honoring your commitments and people will respect you.

Primarily in my life, I am in constant competition with myself. Sometimes to a fault, I compete against myself in an effort to achieve perfection. As a result, there are certain competitions that I will never undertake and/or complete because I know perfection cannot be achieved and therefore I am left in a state of paralysis. I also have the mentality that if I am going to do something, I am going to do it right. Half right is an utter failure of competition for me. Competing against my own self rules my senses in almost everything I do… I attempt to win at everything I do.

I am a very sports oriented person too. That means that I am also very competitive against groups of people. It doesn’t have to be sports though. Any group that I interact with, I want our group to be perceived as the winner. Winning brings the stamp of approval amongst your peers does it not? Nobody ever crowns the losers do they?

I do not compete with possession. In my young adult life, that statement would not have been true… but these days, the more mature and self confident version of me doesn’t need worldly possession to tell me I’ve won the world’s possession competition. What do you actually win anyway? More bills, more stress, more stuff… great, can you take that with you when you die? Well, nobody really wants the ancillary issues that come along with possession competition… they only want the “stuff.”

Do you compete with your spouse? Sometimes I do, but only in a loving and friendly way. If I do compete with my wife, in actuality, it’s a competition that I want us both to win. I’m not looking to beat her or dominate her and win some hidden achievement. I’m looking to enter into a competition that we both will win. This is what I call a friendly competition.

Other things and people we all have a competition with involve our job, our families, and even inanimate objects. Competition is everywhere in our lives and sometimes we completely miss the point and focus on the wrong things while trying to achieve success. If we simply focus upon winning, then our attention isn’t necessarily in the right place. Focusing upon winning can lead to a win at all costs attitude and will inevitably create issues along the way.

Sometimes, we forget that while on the path to achieving success, others are on that same path. We cannot simply brush them to the side or crush them on the way and assume that it’s ok. We must compete with a fair and friendly attitude. Remember, nobody wants to be associated with a jerk. A winner who competes to win at all costs is in fact, a jerk. Ask their “friends.”

Now that I’ve told you who I compete against, are you much different than me? I think we are all competing amongst ourselves. The only difference is how we go about it and what we truly view as success. I used to compete with the mentality of crushing all opponents, a sports mentality. But in the real world, competing in such a way will not work and in the end, it will leave you as the loser in life. As the new year begins, I have entered into many new competitions. I intend to be successful, but my focus will be upon achieving success without destroying those around me. Competition done fairly and effectively can help everyone and not just the so-called “winner.” So, go compete, but be fair and friendly.

Lose weight/Get in better shape/Become healthier…

This seems to be the standard resolution for the majority of society for a variety of reasons. I’m right there with you. We can always strive to become healthier in how we eat, exercise, and live our lives. We must set goals that are attainable so that we do not become discouraged… nothing happens overnight. Remember, it took a long time to get into the state we are in and it will take time to reverse it. Focus on small battles on the way to the overall victory. Think about things in terms of weeks and months, not days and never allow a minor setback destroy your resolve or momentum in your journey.

Save money/Get out of debt

Everyone always wants to make that nest egg a little bit bigger. We also want to reduce the stress in our life that debt creates. Managing our money better during the new year is also a very important battle we wage each and every paycheck. Again, we must focus on the small victories in the course of our war on debt and savings. This particular battle may be a multi-year war and thus there are many opportunities to stray off course and allow the pitfalls of the war disintegrate our willpower. We must focus on the small victories and remember that things take time to right the wrongs of the past.

Be nicer or more caring/Volunteer more

As human beings, most of us have the born in need of wanting to help others. Giving our time freely by volunteering and helping others in need is a prime opportunity to satisfy this need. However, we all know how strained our current time allocations are. We can’t arbitrarily state that we will join several volunteer groups in our community or church and believe that we can sustain a drastic change in lifestyle. As with our other resolutions, we must think small first, and move to bigger and better things.

Many resolutions are dead and buried by the 2^nd week of the new year and some may only last into the 2^nd month. Overall, our resolutions are made in good faith because we all want to become the person we envision ourselves to be, but it’s very easy to become discouraged and migrate back to our previous way of life. If we make too many changes, we simply cannot stay on track and our resolutions become nothing more than pipe dreams. Stay small and focused and true change can happen.

With the economy, housing market, and job market in the dire states they are currently in, what kind of new resolutions make sense to make this year?

Work harder/Be more efficient

With jobs becoming scarce, we all need to work harder at the jobs we do have and also become more efficient at them. Society is spending less money and as a result, there is less money in corporate pockets. Production decreases and job slashing will continue to erode the job market. If we can make ourselves more valuable while decreasing overall costs by becoming more efficient, we can help protect our jobs.

Rebuild family/friend relationships

As the overall economy deteriorates, we all need help at some point. That help comes from our family and friends for the most because the government is not our support system. If there are issues that currently are keeping family or friend relationships broken, they should be worked through because these relationships with loved ones can make the difference between a lifestyle of depression versus one with hope. We all need loving relationships in our lives. Repair those that are broken.

Find your faith/Become active in church

America was born upon the Christian philosophy and faith. The vast majority of Americans still consider themselves Christians. However, church attendance is down. Our church family is another relationship we must rebuild and refocus our attention on. If we can come together again and put away our selfish and greedy differences and focus on living our lives through our faith, we can overcome the trials and tribulations the world continually tries to punish us with.

The new year can be a great year. Focus on each day by doing whatever you can to achieve your overall goals. Remember that winning the battles will not be easy and they will take time… some will take years. However, if we truly work on them, we can make a major difference in our lives and also those around us by simply trying to become better people. Our individual attention to ourselves will translate to everyone around us and we can make an immeasurable positive impact on society.

I’m not speaking from a spiritual point of view as I know the true meaning of Christmas and I am not solely focused upon the commercialized aspect of the season. But, I do want those around me to experience the Christmas they deserve, from both gift receiving and giving to the spiritual aspects of Christmas. This has been a tough year for most of us… a tough few years. I am ok with sacrificing all the commercial aspects of Christmas for myself, but I feel that it is my duty to provide for my loved ones a season in which they enjoy.

Christmas is not all about getting “stuff,” but sometimes, the “stuff” you want to give your loved ones truly means something. Without the means to provide it, it makes me feel empty. I am saddened by the fact that the commercialized Christmas takes away from the ultimate value it has in my life. I feel like I’ve succumbed to the massive marketing machines in our greedy and selfish world and allowed that aspect of Christmas gain too much importance in my life. This is the reason for my “empty” feeling.

Does any of this relate to how you are feeling during this year’s season? I have a feeling that many of us are feeling this way. We shouldn’t. We should be focused on the true reason for Christmas and not about the monetary portion of it. It’s hard not too though because everywhere we turn, we see and read about how horrible our economic situation is and how families are being turned inside out because their jobs are lost and their homes are being foreclosed. We also see things and think of nice gifts that would carry true meaning for our loved ones, but we can’t buy them. We just can’t…

Where do we go from here? I told my wife that I don’t want anything. I don’t NEED anything. All I NEED is her company and love. That is the absolute truth. I am past the age of wanting stuff just to have stuff. I am ok with less… more than ok, I NEED less. She responded with the same desire. She doesn’t want anything and doesn’t NEED anything. However, for some reason, I cannot do that… I cannot simply buy her nothing. What kind of husband would I be if my loving wife received nothing for Christmas? Would I not be a failure? Isn’t that what the commercialized world wants us to think? Don’t they want to guilt us into becoming a follower of their monetized Christmas season?

I admit I have been blinded by their greed and selfishness at times in my life. If I can say that I want, NEED, nothing, then why can’t I believe my wife when she tells me the same thing? I’m not lying to her so why would she lie to me? I believe that she is telling me the truth but my “world” view pushes me to discount her words. I still WANT to buy her “stuff.” The stuff I want to get her though means something to me and to her… because it’s from me. I want to fill her life with joy and satisfy her every need. How can she not WANT anything for Christmas?

It can be true because I honestly do not WANT anything for Christmas. Rather than focusing upon the gifts and the ability to purchase them, a return to the ultimate meaning of Christmas should be our focus. No longer would we feel empty or sad because we cannot fulfill the supposed needs of those we love by giving gifts. If we forgot about the commercialized aspect of Christmas, the emptiness would be gone. This article is actually a look at how I’ve felt over the last few months. I have progressed through these feelings, and as Christmas Day approaches, my empty feeling has been replaced with happiness.

That happiness resides in the fact that we are able to spend our time together, in love and truly happy… together. We are having a family dinner this evening with no gifts, just the people of our lives who can be with us, enjoying the Christmas season together. Tomorrow morning will be very small for us and I’m glad and content. My focus is upon my wife, my family, and my spiritual relationship… not with getting “stuff.” Tomorrow is Christ’s birthday. He was born to give his life for our salvation. That is the focus of Christmas, not receiving a gift. Merry Christmas to everyone and God bless your families.

Oil has been trading below $50 for a while now and gas prices have plunged across the United States to levels we haven’t seen in five years. Even as OPEC continues to cut production in an effort to prop up falling oil prices, the bottom line still has not been found. OPEC nations built their fiscal year revenue models on $70+ per barrel prices. With the market price set much lower than that, their governments are having to dig deep into their coffers of cash to sustain their economy… it’s not like they are left wanting with the billions they have made in the last few years.

So, what we have right now is a massive global decline in demand for oil. Consumer demand for goods and services have eroded and many of the global economies have been in a state of freefall. Not only are the average people not spending money, but the wealthy are holding back on their investments and spending only on proven or guaranteed opportunities… the purse strings are tight everywhere. A continuing erosion of demand will lead to even softer prices for oil, no matter what OPEC does until they near the rock bottom oil production which is necessary to sustain the world’s most basic economic functions.

Are we close to that level? I don’t know, we may never find out. But, we could be finding out in our near future that we are entering into a much more horrific future regarding gas and oil prices than what we saw this summer. What will we see happen when the global recession begins to end and the demand for oil returns? What will we see happen when the cuts OPEC has made impacts the volatile and fledging economic upswings? Will the diminished production coupled with a reappearing demand for oil throw the market into upheaval?

How fast do you think OPEC will turn their spigots back on when the economies begin demanding more oil? Do you think they will be satisfied with a measly $70 per barrel or do you think they are like an animal after that once tasted sweet blood of $150 per barrel? If $150 was seen without OPEC reducing their supply, what do you think we’ll see with their levels cut and demand returning? Will we see $200, $250, or even $300? I’ve read reports from some lifelong oil traders who are throwing around the term super spike. I’m not all about doom and gloom, but the reality is that our global recession will end at some point and OPEC has cut millions of barrels of production already. They will likely cut more in the next year if things do not turn around sooner than later.

The only rational future is that of horrific oil and gas prices once again. We are living in what I equate to an oil remission. The future is not the present… the future is more of our past summer. Is that a horror show? I believe so.

You may say that the economies will succumb to the extreme costs and immediately withdraw into a minor recession and thus avert a super spike of oil and gas prices. That may well be true. The impending oil costs of our future could in fact destroy any gains we make as nations in an effort to dig ourselves out of our growing recession. If that day comes, the recession will be even worse than what we are experiencing now because it will be like a sledgehammer (oil prices) hitting a watermelon (weak economies on brittle standing). As nations reverse recessions, the economies must gain momentum and sustain consumer demand. If oil and gas immediately spike, any gains will be immediately killed and the economies could back away much further than necessary in a violent reactionary adjustment.

We want and are in dire need of an economic turnaround, but we must be prepared for the impending costs of oil and gas. If we fail to recognize a potential super spike on the way, we are destined to repeat our errors of the last few years and end up in a worse boat than now. Millions of jobs lost now? Tens of millions of jobs lost later. Be wary and watchful.

Our economy has shed over 2 million jobs this year… with more to come. Unemployment has increased by nearly 2% this year alone and there are over 10 million people registered as unemployed. The national unemployment figure is currently at 6.7%. Since December 2007, the beginning of our current recession, over 2.7 million people have been added to the unemployment line.

As always the unemployment statistic does not include people who are working part time who need full time work and it also ignores people who have just totally given up on looking for work. This could potentially add millions to the 10 million who are counted as unemployed. As jobs are being cut and the unemployed workforce grows, competition increases for the jobs that do become available. Workers will fight amongst themselves giving up perks, hourly wage requirements, health insurance, retirement plans, and many other costly employer funded benefits… to just have a job.

This means that the worker is dropping his required price due to the competition for the available job. Of course the employers know this and will drop their pay scales for the jobs opening up. It only makes fiscal sense doesn’t it? It’s a function of the business world and supply and demand.

Even if all of this makes perfect economical sense, is it right and what ramifications do you get when you pay experienced workers less than they believe they are worth? Sure, the workers who “win” the new job will be happy that they are earning money again, but are they happy and will they be efficient? Yes, they have to be at least efficient enough to keep their job and thus they must do a certain amount of work which ensures their continued employment. But, can you expect someone to give full effort for less money? Can you expect someone to put in extra hours and give their job everything they have when they have sacrificed all of their perks they were being given before?

The situation exists today. Let’s look at a hypothetical example. Person A is an experienced worker and has a credible resume. He has performed his job with excellence year to year but his job has been cut due to the horrid economic times. Let’s say he was making $20 an hour with full benefits (vacation, health insurance, retirement, etc). Now, he’s out of work and fighting against similar people and resumes. However, the prices have dropped to reflect the oversupply of workers.

Now, he has agreed to work for say $12.50 an hour with limited benefits (very few vacation days, horrible insurance coverage if any at all, no retirement, etc). Will this worker show up at work and give the same effort he gave while at his last job? Some will, most won’t… how would you react in this situation? As prices/salary drops for workers, effort and efficiency will decline. As effort and efficiency decline, so will the profit and product quality of the places they work for. People need a job, but they also believe they should get paid what they are worth. If they are being undercut, you will not receive full effort.

Same thing goes for companies who pull the plug on bonuses and hourly raises for current employees. If an employee has excelled in their position even during bad economic times, they will expect a subsequent acknowledgement of their work and dedication. For the people who do not excel, removals of monetary rewards are justified even without economic downturns. However, even during an economic crisis, if the company is making money and staying in the black, rewarding deserving employees is still a must. It cannot be completely removed or the workforce will feel unappreciated and effort and quality will decrease.

Is there a happy medium? In the end yes, but during volatile times, we see things get worse and the workforce mental status declines. This all feeds upon itself until enough good news turns the tide and the workforce begins to believe things are heading back in the right direction. Until that time happens, jobs will continue to be lost, salaries will continue to be cut, raises and bonuses will be nonexistent, and worker efficiency will decrease. Employers must find ways to motivate their workers in the dire times we are in to help deter the effects of workforce resentment. Is there a way to motivate you without money? I think the answer is yes and it’s up to employer’s to find the answer.

Is the motivator in your life something physical, spiritual, or emotional? Can you quantify your particular motivator? More often than not, I would bet my money that the motivators for most are emotional and spiritual. Physical motivators are fleeting and are vastly overrated. Shooting from the hip here, I would guess that the physical factors for most are money/wealth, physical attributes/looks, and possessions. These are things people can easily touch and quantify. They are also things that are very shallow and volatile. For the most part, physical motivation does not last and only creates a continuous need for more because satisfaction can never be achieved without having more and more.

On the other hand, we have spiritual and emotional motivators. These factors can also create a constant state of dissatisfaction because many people cannot honestly express themselves and sacrifice their true needs for the needs of others or for fear of public retribution or humiliation. There are also situations where these needs can mimic that of a possession motivator. They can be a never ending hole that cannot be filled for whatever reason.

What makes me tick? At one point in my life, I can honestly tell you that physical possession meant more to me than anything. I wanted the best and more of it. I wanted the top of the line and wanted better than anyone else. I wanted it, I needed it. Many, if not all of us, probably go through this period of selfishness and greed in our lives.

Later in life, I entered an emotional motivator focus on life. Within this segment of life, I was specifically motivated by appreciation received from others. I would do anything as long as I felt that I was being appreciated and respected for my efforts. If I felt that I was being taken for granted or slighted, I would be immediately angered and become very aggravated. This emotional motivator is a very sharp two-edged sword. Very rarely is there balance or a middle of the road. I lived a hot and cold life while focused on my appreciation motivational ticker.

Now, I believe that I am entering a new stage in my motivational life. My life has become more motivated by my spiritual relationships. I still cling to the remnants of physical motivation. I don’t think any of us can truly be rid of our basic sense of want, not 100%. I am still holding on to my appreciation motivator too. I am trying to temper those times when I feel like I am underappreciated. Even with those still hanging around, my single most motivating factor in my life is becoming my spiritual relationships.

That truly makes me tick these days. As each day progresses and my previous motivators diminish in relationship to my core motivator, I feel more at peace. My spiritual relationships alters my outlook on the world we live in and provides me the necessary buffer against the damaging emotions other motivating factors bring with it.

My relationship with my wife and my Savior are my two most important motivators in my life. As I focus on these types of relationships, the other motivators become meaningless. I believe my progression through physical, emotional, and spiritual motivation is the path most of us walk through as we mature. Some may experience these motivators earlier in life or in a different order, but I feel that spiritual motivation is the pinnacle of life.

That’s what makes me tick. What makes you tick?

Upon first glance at that sentence, I would imagine we all turn our focus to an external enemy… an enemy from across the shores, a physical and political enemy. However, I believe the enemy is actually our own citizens within our society today. O’Reilly wrote this knowing that and has identified the threat as an entity he labels the “Secular Progressives” or S-P for short. I will label this segment of our society as our “insurgents.”

Yes, I label them with such drastic measure because the effects of their ultra liberal policies destroy the basic American moral values which we were founded upon. The American insurgency, aka insurrectionists or secessionists in my opinion, are looking to change the landscape into that of total anarchy. Our way of life, if they have their way, will change forever into something that could split the nation in a way we haven’t seen since the Civil War. No longer is slavery or women’s rights at stake, our nation’s moral and ethical value system is at stake.

Fighting for our individual rights is one thing, fighting for the continued life of our nation is another. The insurgents are pushing policies which are held by a very small percentage of our society. However, that percentage is growing and is funded by some of the wealthiest people in America. They have the ability to get their message out because they are in de facto control of the nation’s media outlets. They control the television air waves, a large portion of the radio waves, and have created propaganda spewing internet sites which are in place to lure unsuspecting youth into their control.

This is not a fight of Republican versus Democrat. It is not a fight between Conservatives and Liberals. This is a fight between the standard American citizen who holds our moral and ethical value set close to their heart and those who wish to remove all moral and ethical standards while replacing them with what is by default, chaos and anarchy.

Over 80% of our nation’s citizens consider themselves Christians. As such, they are bound by certain basic moral and ethical standards. If our nation has its moral and ethical standards destroyed by a small, but extremely powerful insurgency, expect a revolution by those who wish to uphold what the United States of America stands for.

Creating a society where anarchy and chaos rules serves two major purposes… greed and selfishness. If there are no moral and ethical rules to follow, what exactly is there to keep the average human being in line other than a basic understanding of what is right and wrong? And even then, right and wrong can be argued and litigated until wrong is right and right is wrong. Our society will simply focus on individual satisfaction at all costs because it’s our “right.”

Do we need the government to uphold our standard moral and ethical views? Do we need laws in place to tell us how to live correctly? It appears that we do because if the insurgents had their way, our country would already be in chaos. No longer does it appear that we have the innate sense to know what is right and wrong while living in society. No longer does it appear that we can govern ourselves in a free society effectively as the insurgents continue to gain power. No longer does it appear that we know how to live without greed and selfishness.

In the end, the country will make a decision. Will those of us who stand for something greater than the individual stand up for our country or will we simply allow the insurgency decide for us how to live our lives? I’m not telling you to stand up and start a militia in preparation for a revolution, I am telling you to use the most powerful tool in your arsenal… your vote. Yes, we just finished one our biggest elections, but it never stops. Speak up, write letters, attend a rally, do something other than allow the insurgents have their way because we are too lazy or pacified. They are the weaker force… we must band together and stop them before it’s too late. At that point in time, we may be beyond the simple casting a vote phase and into a full blown revolution.

The American way of life is worth fighting for. No, not the “American life” of greed and selfishness, but the way of life our forefathers fought and died to protect. If we do our part, our country can be reclaimed and once again be that shining beacon of hope to all who want freedom.

Assuming that we all spend a great deal of our life amongst the public shouldn’t we be pretty accustomed to using and hearing this simple phrase? Can you remember the last time you heard the phrase from a stranger in a strange place without any sarcastic undertones? Can you remember the last time you were rudely forced to move from your position because someone thought you were in their way? Do you politely say “Excuse me” when you need someone to move or when you find yourself in someone else’s way?

I’m quick to say “Excuse me” whether I’m the one in the way or not. It’s the polite thing to do. However, I’ve learned that politeness is mainly a one way street these days. Our society’s greed and selfishness is mirrored in how people interact amongst crowds of strangers. No longer are people worried about their impact on the others around them. No longer are people worried about simple politeness when their sole focus is upon satisfying their immediate need.

How do you negotiate your way through a crowded store? Do you believe that it’s the responsibility of others to get out of your way? Or do you assume that it’s your responsibility to ask others to provide you the necessary space to go about your intended business? Hopefully you don’t expect the public mass of strangers to “bow down” to your every need as if you were the king of the world. Of course that is thinking rationally… who would actually say yes to that?

There must be people that say yes to that because the truth of the situation is that people truly expect you to get out of their way because you MUST be in their way. No “Excuse me” to politely ask you to move, but more often than not, a gently shove, touch, or outright push to make way for their “kingliness.” These situations present themselves more often during rush shopping periods and special events such as Black Friday, but I find people acting this way on an average Wednesday afternoon. I find people acting this way when there may only be three people in the store.

People have become utterly rude. People have forgotten the simple rules of public living. We have forgotten how to interact with others which we do not know, and even with those we do. When did our own selfish desires or supposed needs take ultimate importance in a simple public arena? Why do we feel that everyone else is in our way and they must make the gesture and excuse themselves?

Unless you are on your own property or in your own home, guess what, you don’t have any right to the space you are in other than you temporarily inhabit it and your human rights apply to your person. Knowing that, you are in essence sharing the space with others. If we are sharing it with other people, then we must treat everyone politely because someone else may temporarily be in our way and we may need to ask them to politely move.

These are two pretty simple concepts, ones that we’ve been taught since years before kindergarten… sharing and being polite. How can we manage to negotiate our way through life without being polite to others and sharing with them? Maybe that’s why so many people are upset, mad, and just generally angry with society. People have forgotten how to be nice. People have forgotten how to share. Next time you are in public, remember, you might be in someone else’s way so be first to say “Excuse me” and be last to release that emphatic huff of sarcastic steam from your lungs.

Share your space with others… you may need them to share with you. Say “Excuse me” and be genuinely nice about it. It really is that easy, and it really does work. Politeness conquers rudeness.

In the past, New Years didn’t mean anything to me. Well, it did mean something to me if my favorite college football team was playing, but other than that, it was just another cold day in Missouri. However, now that I’m in my mid 30’s, New Years means a bit more to me. I’m not sure if it has something to do with my age, my mental outlook, or my continued growth as a husband and father. Maybe it has to do with all of the above.

Each January 1^st now brings a sense of hope for me. It gives me a fresh mental outlook at what can be and not what is or what has been. It’s a simple thing really, but the reality of the matter is, I can feel the difference, physically, emotionally, and even spiritually when the calendar shows January 1^st. Does that mean the day before was worse than the new day to come? Does that mean the past year wasn’t as good as I hope the upcoming year is going to be? No.

I now view January 1^st as a date in which I can reflect on my life up until that point and set goals around how I want my life to be so I can be the best version of me. It does offer a clean slate, an empty notebook, and a chance at excellence. It also offers redemption and a mentality focusing on new beginnings. Does the simple change of date really make any difference? Of course it doesn’t. But, we all know the absolute power our mind has over our body and some of us attach great importance to certain calendar dates.

Sometimes, my New Years goals are the exact same as the year before, they never change. I set goals that I strive to achieve. Some goals may not even be goals, but are actually standards to live by. Some goals may be easily tracked and accounted for. Other goals may just be simple goals that are entirely personal and cannot be qualified or understood by others. It doesn’t matter. Our goals we set allow us to view the new year as a path to a better version of ourselves.

As we get closer to January 1^st, I find myself thinking of goals I want to set and I’m beginning to work on them already. The date itself isn’t the important factor, the mental outlook is most important. Allowing your mental outlook to focus upon the hope and greatness of what may come in the new year can truly alter your daily life.

So, as I get older, I pay more attention to New Years Day. It makes me feel excited. It makes me focus upon how I can improve myself. It makes me live with hope and excitement that each and every day is a step towards achieving my goal of a better me.

We all need goals and January 1^st is the easiest date to set them on. If you’re not a New Years person, try and set some goals this year. Start small and honestly try and attain them. See how it can change your life and make you feel different inside as you near your accomplishments and eventually conquer your goals and even surpass them. It’s not about having lots of goals, it’s about making you the best you there is and working every day to achieve that. Will you join me and set goals that will make you a better person come January 1^st? I’m in, let’s do it!