Why You Should Value Each Day

Another year is coming to a conclusion.  The way you choose to evaluate it and remember it has to do with how you lived each of the 365 days.  The seconds add up to minutes and the minutes become hours.  The hours turn in to days, months and years.  So, how have you done with the 362 days so far this year?  Are you planning on writing off the next three days of the remaining year because this year yielded a less than favorable outcome?   What changes are you planning on making in the New Year ahead that will add more value to your life?  If you're not sure, consider these ideas:

1. Decide today that you will value every day, no matter what the calendar says, what Mother Nature delivers to your front door, or what others say about the future.  You are in control of how you will live each twenty-four hour period.
2. Understand that most people begin every New Year with a belief that it will be better than any year preceding it.  The challenge with this kind of strategy is that they fail to break the old habits that led to poor results.  There are usually eleven months left in the New Year still to be lived by the time all hope is lost.  Every day is equally important.  Don't ever give up, no matter what day it is.  If your heart is still beating, you have time to break your old habits and form new ones.
3. Concentrate on what is significant.  You may have to limit each twenty-four period to one important task.  For example, the most important task our youngest son has on his priority list is to wrestle.  As a parent, my most important task is to arrange my days in order to maximize my attendance at his meets and tournaments.  With traveling time and time on the mat, most tournaments don't finish until the end of the day.  For me, it's a high value day if the only thing I accomplish is spending the day as a spectator rooting for our son and his team.
4. Stop worrying about all the days that came before today.  The only impact those days have on today is that the time you spend worrying about what you failed to do or that you regret because you did something wrong only take away from the time you have to do something right today.  Worry tends to make people freeze because they are stressed about the possibility of failure.  You can overcome worry by deciding you are going to live each day differently until you get it right.  
5. Each day begins with your choice about how you will live it.  Will you get out of bed or stay in bed?  What time will you get up?  What do you want to accomplish before the sun sets?

One idea that helps me is that I place a "minimum standard" for living each twenty-four hour period of my life.  My commitment is to communicate with the world through this daily blog.  I don't let anything get in the way.  I believe there is someone out there who wants to hear from me.  So far, at least one person every day has checked in.  Maybe that one person cares about me or they are in a similar situation as mine and they are looking for hope.  I'm just happy to contribute something that others choose to read.  This idea has worked for over 1,500 consecutive days.  It works for me.  What about you?  Why do you believe you should value each day?  Don't forget to post your comment below.  Thanks for stopping by today.