(I wrote this guest post on Joshua Becker’s excellent website Becoming Minimalist.)
New Year’s Day has come and gone. The toasts have been raised and the resolutions have been made. Another fresh batch of 30 dozen opportunities now stretch out before us.
But let’s fast-forward past all the days of 2015. Let’s imagine tonight is December 31st, 2015, the last night of the year.
The ball hasn’t dropped quite yet, but there’s a break in the revelry around you. The music and laughter of the party grows quiet, the celebration momentarily dies down.
In this moment of peace, your mind reflects on the events of your life during 2015. You relive your proudest success, your most embarrassing misstep, and everything in-between.
You pore through the year in your mind—like flipping through the familiar pages of a much-thumbed book.
Now you are back in the present.
Answer this question: Who wrote that book?
1. You Are The Protagonist
Humans tell stories to make sense of our world, to create meaning for ourselves, and to provide inspiration for others.
Being the protagonist in your own story is about accepting the role of “good guy.”
You are the one in 2015 who will make the conscious choice to drink one less soda per day, finish one great book per month, or buy one less object per week.
One of the greatest virtues that a website like Becoming Minimalistprovides for me and my family is the steadfast reminder that the meaning we ascribe to our stuff, our clutter, and the objects in our lives is created by us alone.
That reminder returns the power to us, where it has always been. It removes our illusions. It calls us to shape that meaning in a way that is best for us, our families, and our world.
It reminds us that in the screenplay of our lives, we decide what all these props will mean.
You are the hero who gets to decide which triumphs you will aspire and work towards for yourself and your family in 2015.
Nobody else.
2. You Are The Villain
Since 1962, Spider-Man has taught the world “with great power comes great responsibility.”
Through his arrogance and apathy, Peter Parker allowed a chain of events to unfold which resulted in the death of his beloved uncle Ben.
You are, always and forever, your worst enemy.
I am reminded of this in my own life all too often.
As my wife Sarah and I strive each week to create original children’s audio stories to improve the quality time of families around the world, we encounter our fair share of obstacles.
These obstacles often appear disguised as important meetings, fun social events, family obligations, fears, or worries.
They seem to come into our lives from the outside. But that is just an illusion. These obstacles originate from within.
When we don’t accept the responsibility of the power we wield over our own lives, when we give that power away to distraction or clutter or fear, we are the Villain.
You are the one who will trip yourself in 2015, the one who will make rationalizations, the one who will listen to the soft, familiar voice of fear.
Nobody else.
3. You Are The Author
We are creatures built to search for meaning. When we don’t find it, our hearts and our minds invent it automatically.
What 2015 will mean to you will ultimately come down to the kind of story you tell yourself each and every day.
The exciting news is that you always have a choice.
You can choose to turn off the printing press and rewrite your story with intention.
2015 offers 365 new opportunities (delivered one after another) to make little changes that add up to big differences.
We can choose to write the stories of our lives in 2015 to be filled with mindfulness, gratitude, and abundant love for each other and our world.
We can choose to write the stories of our families to be full of kindness and laughter; resiliency and authenticity; healing and hope.
We can choose to write the stories of our personal spiritual journeys to be guided by faith and forgiveness; wisdom and understanding.
We are the defenders and the scoundrels and the authors of our own story. It’s up to you and me to make 2015 a story worth reading.
Nobody else.