Make the Most of a New Year by Taking One Day at a Time

[Old Man Jingles]

Thought I would share this with others who may have an addiction issue, a depressive personality, bi-polar, etc.
I have been participating in Twelve Step programs for 6 months now ... I have not felt depressed in over 3 months now so I am a big believer.

Note: This is so anti-'UPS culture', I'm not sure I could have accepted it while employed at UPS.


Today we have an opportunity to discard destructive old habits for healthy new ones, and with that in mind, I will share Dear Abby's often-requested list of New Year's Resolutions -- distilled from the original credo of Al-Anon and other Twelve Step programs:

JUST FOR TODAY: I will live through this day only. I will not brood about yesterday or obsess about tomorrow. I will not set far-reaching goals or try to overcome all of my problems at once.

I know that I can do something for 24 hours that would overwhelm me if I had to keep it up for a lifetime.

JUST FOR TODAY: I will be happy. I will not dwell on thoughts that depress me. If my mind fills with clouds, I will chase them away and fill it with sunshine.

JUST FOR TODAY: I will accept what is. I will face reality. I will correct those things that I can correct and accept those I cannot.

JUST FOR TODAY: I will improve my mind. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration. I will not be a mental loafer.

JUST FOR TODAY: I will make a conscious effort to be agreeable. I will be kind and courteous to those who cross my path, and I'll not speak ill of others. I will improve my appearance, speak softly and not interrupt when someone else is talking. Just for today, I will refrain from improving anybody but myself.

JUST FOR TODAY: I will do something positive to improve my health. If I'm a smoker, I'll quit. If I am overweight, I will eat healthfully -- if only just for today. And not only that, I will get off the couch and take a brisk walk, even if it's only around the block.

JUST FOR TODAY: I will gather the courage to do what is right and take responsibility for my own actions.

My personal favorite saying:
Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change
The Courage to change the things I can,
And the Wisdom to know the difference.


Indian perspective: This year, no resolutions, only some guidelines. The Holy Vedas say, "Man has subjected himself to thousands of self-inflicted bondages. Wisdom comes to a man who lives according to the true eternal laws of nature."

Western world perspective: The prayer of St. Francis (of which there are several versions) contains a powerful message:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

To be understood, as to understand;

To be loved, as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive,

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

 

[MyTripisCut]

I’ve always like this one. Hard to have the wisdom to know, but at least makes me think twice.
Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change
The Courage to change the things I can,
And the Wisdom to know the difference.



Another one I’ve always read when feeling down is Rudyard Kipling’s “If”. Some solid advice in here. Interestingly it is advice to his son, and my dad was never around so I adopted this as my Mantra from about 11th grade through college.


If


If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too.
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster,
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make a heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And—which is more—you'll be a Man, my son!

 

[floridays]

I’ve always like this one. Hard to have the wisdom to know, but at least makes me think twice.
Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change
The Courage to change the things I can,
And the Wisdom to know the difference.



Another one I’ve always read when feeling down is Rudyard Kipling’s “If”. Some solid advice in here. Interestingly it is advice to his son, and my dad was never around so I adopted this as my Mantra from about 11th grade through college.


If


If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too.
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster,
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make a heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And—which is more—you'll be a Man, my son!

That's really great reading, and I like it, and wish I could live up to half of it, but I'm glad I didn't have to meet that measure to be a son. That just made me love my father so much more. Basically for me as a kid it was
Respect your elders
Speak when you are spoken to (in public)
Don't set your cat on fire
Come when we call you for dinner
Shine your shoes night before church (father and son)
Respect your Mother
Respect your Mother
Respect your Mother
We love You, enjoy being a kid
When I was grown it was,
Please don't park the car on the roof
Actually please was excluded

No wonder I turned out a POS

 

[floridays]

@MyTripisCut
Hey amigo, thanks for sharing what you did, it brought back great memories to me, every Saturday night the shoe shining for church the next day, wouldn't have remembered it without your post, thank you. And Thank You @Mr Jingles for the thread. I hope the best for both of you.