January 1: A New Beginning

They say the first step towards accomplishing any goal is to simply start doing it. So, here I am..."doing it". See, for most of my 41 years, I've made a hobby out of starting things but never quite getting to that elusive finishing point. Books, screenplays, poems, do-it-yourself projects...you name it. That's not to say I've never accomplished anything I ever set out to do. On the contrary, I'm a pretty good Husband and Father, a reliable and productive Learning Consultant for Bank of America, quite successful in the fantasy sports realm, and fairly handy at useless facts and trivia. But, in the back of mind, I always knew I could shoot a little bit higher in certain areas; mostly in the dreams and aspirations category. In an effort to break that pattern in 2010, I thought maybe tasking myself with something mild in the challenge department yet heavy in the rewards might just the key to some new motivation...a self-delivered kick in the pants if you will to get me working towards some of those other things I'd like to add to my life resume before it's too late. That's when this idea came to me. Why not triple-dog-dare myself to try at least one new thing every single day throughout the 2010 year and then write about the experience? A little novelty, I know, perhaps even bordering on childish. Trust me, I've gone over it again and again in my head, weighed the pros and cons. Yet, there's something about it that makes me feel motivated again - eager, excited and ready to take action; which is exactly what I haven't done to my satisfaction to this point in my life. It hasn't gone away, so I'm taking that as some kind of sign that maybe this is something I need to follow through on. So, as I finish up writing this first entry of the new thing I've accomplished today, which is simply starting this adventure and managing to get it typed into this blog, I think of the words of Roy McAvoy from the film "Tin Cup"..."when a defining moment comes along, you define the moment or the moment defines you". Maybe this is my defining moment.