Happiness

I am fine with where I am now.

I haven't really had the time recently to write on here, mostly due to holidays and seeing friends/family.
So during that time away, I've been thinking over topics I may be interested in bringing up on here.
Over and over, my mind would go back to change.
I'm sure it's largely due to the fact that it's a new year and people set resolutions.
So I thought I'd share with you all my resolution this year.

Mind you, I don't particularly care for New Years resolutions. At least for myself.
Only because I don't like forcing myself to have a desire to change something about me.
Resolutions have their best results, I feel, when they come about after a realization that you want to improve in a certain way. 
Not after a specified day passes of no actual significance. But still, it does work for some people.
And also, I can't be too critical since I find myself presently with a New Years resolution.

Which brings me back to what I really wanted to share.
I have a lot of things I want to improve on in several different areas of my life.
I want to be healthier. Including eating better, exercising regularly, and losing weight.
I want to get back into music again. Writing, playing, performing.
I want to be a better husband, son, brother, and friend.
I really want to give more time to spiritual things. Temple work, scripture study, prayer.

When I'd think of all these things I want to work on, I became overwhelmed.
It's daunting realizing how much you need to work on yourself.
And I mean, these aren't even insignificant silly things either. All of them enable me to have more joy. 
And that's really what resolutions are all about right?

So I made my resolution.
It's one I am fully able to keep and I intend to.
Every morning so far I've concentrated in my mind on this idea.

"Try to be better"

That's all I can ever really ask of myself.
Obviously I can think of so many different ways that I can improve. I'm fully aware of what I lack.
So just try to be better each day.

I think I've tried to live this way for a couple of years now since I once heard someone talk to me about it.
He explained that I can't help but be imperfect. I make mistakes- literally every day.
And it's really easy to be down on myself about it. We can all be such harsh critics to ourselves and 
I have to admit that I can actually be especially bad about that.
But he asked me: what if you just promised yourself to be better today than you were yesterday.
Not in any huge, life-altering way. Just in the small simple choices you make throughout your day.
And then even if you do stumble, which we all inevitably do, then you have the opportunity the very next day 
to make things right again. You can be better tomorrow than you were today.

So this year I'm going to really focus on that.
Every day I'm going to try to be better.
I'm aware of my potential, at least somewhat.
So I can strive to take a step, even a small one, each day to reaching that potential.
And as I move forward, those things that are holding me back and weighing me down- they just fall off. 
They can't keep up with a person determined to move onward and upward.

All that life really is is just choices.
From the moment you are born to your last breath, you are choosing who you are.
This year I choose to be better.

There's The Rub.