Finish Each Day and Be Done With It

I have this Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, magnetized, above my desk at work. Today, I didn’t see it because it is the first day of a New Year and–like most people–I had the day off.

There were many things I could have done with my day: worked on my writing, taken a walk, caught up on emails, read a book, paid bills.

I did none of those things. Instead, I did absolutely nothing. In my sweatpants, I let the day slip away from me. I didn’t make any plans. I let the television numb me. I didn’t go outside.

I feel bad about this. Earlier this evening I wallowed in self-pity. (Why hadn’t I gone to the gym? Why had no friends called me? Why can’t I seem to do all of my dishes?).

But then I remembered the Emerson quote, and I stopped bullying myself.

Tomorrow will be the official start of my New Year. January 2, 2014: I will get dressed, go to work, and move on from today “with too high a spirit to be encumbered by [my] old nonsense.”