ONE DAY OR DAY ONE
One of my absolute favorite songs is “One Day” by Matisyahu. He sings of a magnificent time for the world where there is finally peace, and people can live harmoniously. It really is beautiful. And he tells us that it will happen … one day.
Wonderful. I’m in. Now how the heck do we get there? It’s seems like a daunting task – especially knowing that there are 7.5 billion people living on this planet! Thankfully, Mother Teresa broke it down for us and said, “If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” There you have it: “one day” comes by sharing love with one person at a time.
But here’s the thing: we HAVE to start somewhere. In order to make “one day” a reality, there has to be a “day one” – otherwise it is simply just a dream. To achieve the desired end, we must take action. This is true of every dream or goal.
Nike, one of the largest and most well-known brands in the world tells us plainly with one quick slogan: just do it. Take action, and start somewhere. Once the decision has been made, the only way it moves forward is by doing something about it. Whatever “it” is.
While it feels good to sit back and imagine how fantastic it will be when we accomplish our goals and have the things we want, none of it actually matters if we don’t act on it. Why? Here’s my top three reasons to seize the damn day:
1. No One Else Is Going To Do It For You.
Just carpe that dang diem already! You don’t really want it if you’re just going to sit there and think about it. Throughout my life, I’ve heard things like “one day, I’ll be skinny again” or “one day, I won’t have to work at this dreadful job anymore”, “one day, I’ll have a house on the beach.” But nothing is ever done to move in that direction. So start on it already. Talk is very cheap.
2. You’re Wasting Time By Waiting
The only thing we can’t make more of, is time. So don’t waste it. None of us gets out of life alive, we don’t have a limitless amount of days to mess around. One of my favorite sayings is “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is right now.” What does it mean? It means there’s no time like the present, sweetheart, so get on it!
3. Make A Difference, And Start A Ripple Effect.
You do something, and it can spur someone else into action. If someone’s goal was to get healthier, and started going for a walk every lunch break, it could encourage a co-worker to join in. This sparks a desire to start feeding his kids less sugar, and he packs his kids carrot sticks for school. A classmate tries the new snack, likes it, and asks her mom to send her to school with carrot sticks. The mom sees that it’s an opportunity to add more vegetables to meals, and starts a blog about healthy eating. See what I’m getting at? Because of her incredible wisdom, I'll quote Mother Teresa again: “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the water and make many ripples.”
So let’s do this. Work toward that One Day. Create utopia. Write those memoirs. Run a marathon. What ever it is, it’s just a matter of getting started, and then we keep going. Today, let’s make it Day One.
