You made to today! How does that make you feel? Did you celebrate Monday's wins? Learn from Monday's losses? Today is your day! What are you going to create for yourself? Do you have goals in place that you can work on today? How can you make a difference in someone else's life today? Growing into, wanting to transform your life, isn't an easy task. Simple, but not easy. One simple thing. Change one simple thing! Something spiritually, something mental, something physical. We fall into so many traps. We react to situations instead of being proactive about it. For me, I felt like I was in a rut. I hated it but I was comfortable. I knew what to expect being in the rut. Looking over the edge of it, looking into what I could be was scary. Nervewracking. I got the "what ifs". What if someone doesn't like me. What if someone says what I'm doing is stupid. What if I fail? Whoa! That's one scary word for 4 itty bitty letters. What is failure? My dad gave me a plaque many years ago that said "You NEVER FAIL until you STOP TRYING!" I didn't believe that for many years. My perfectionistic beliefs, my procrastinating beliefs, told me I was going to fail at whatever I set out to do. It got to the point I didn't even try anymore. Had to be done perfectly. I knew I couldn't be perfect, so WHY EVEN TRY?! F.A.I.L. First Attempt In Learning.
Here's another way to look at it, think about it. Who had the best batting average of all time?
OutfielderTy Cobb, whose career ended in 1928, has the highest batting average in Major League Baseball (MLB) history. He batted .366 over 24 seasons, mostly with the Detroit Tigers. In ad.dition, he won a record 11 batting titles for leading the American League in BA over the course of an entire season. A .366 batting average, that's pretty impressive to me. BUT WHAT THIS MEANS is that every10 times he was up to bat, he only had just over 3 1/2 hits. Sounds pretty low to me, but is Ty Cobb a failure? Well, he must be, he can only hit the ball 4 times at bat for every 10 times he's up at the plate. A record of 11 batting titles, yep sounds like a failure to me! During his 24-year big league career, Cobb captured a record11 (or 12) batting titles, batted over . 400 three times, and won the 1909 Triple Crown. Upon his retirement, he held career records for games played (3,035), at-bats (11,434), runs (2,246), hits (4,189), total bases (5,854), and batting average (. 366) NOT a failure in my estimation.
A friend of mine collects old glass 7-Up bottles. I love his reasoning about behind them. If you rate your ideas, your successes, your beliefs, etc. on a scale of 1-10, a 7 is a pretty darn good place to be. Can you be happy with a 7? Can you consider a 7 a win?
So, today, Just For Today, tell yourself:
Just for today, I will try to live through this day only, and not tackle all my problems at once. I can do something for twelve hours that would appall me if I felt that I had to keep it up for a lifetime.
Just for today, I will be happy. This assumes to be true what Abraham Lincoln said, that most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.
Just for today, I will adjust myself to what is, and not try to adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my luck as it comes, and fit myself to it.
Just for today, I will try to strengthen my mind. I will study. I will learn something useful. I will not be a mental loafer. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration.
Just for today, I will exercise my soul in three ways: I will do somebody a good turn, and not get found out; if anybody knows of it, it will not count. I will do at least two things I don’t want to do just for exercise. I will not show anyone that my feelings are hurt; they may be hurt, but today I will not show it.
Just for today, I will be agreeable. I will look as well as I can, dress becomingly, keep my voice low, be courteous, criticize not one bit. I won’t find fault with anything, nor try to improve or regulate anybody but myself.
Just for today, I will have a program. I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it. I will save myself from two pests: hurry and indecision.
Just for today I will have a quiet half-hour all by myself and relax. During this half-hour, sometime, I will try to get a better perspective of my life.
Just for today, I will be unafraid. Especially I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful and to believe that as I give to the world, so the world will give to me.
From Alcoholics Anonymous. BUT I think it is applicable to everybody, whether in recovery or not.
Until next time....