Make it a great day.

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DSC02441February is flying by, I can’t believe we have already left the first week of the month behind.

Last week, although it seemed so brief, was a good week for me. I biked 201 miles which is the farthest I have gone in a week since I retired my road bike for the winter. Besides biking, work went well, I was able to spend time with friends and family and I began some projects that I have been putting off for awhile.

Good weeks don’t happen by accident. On January 31st, while I was visiting at my parent’s house, I picked up a book randomly lying around, titled- Coach Wooden: The 7 Principles That Shaped His Life and Will Change Yours and flipped to the middle.

My eyes fell on this quote,

When I was teaching basketball, I urged my players to try their hardest to improve on that very day, to make that practice a masterpiece…It begins by trying to make each day count and knowing you can never make up for a lost day.

Those words drew me into the book and I quickly read through that chapter, which was entitled, “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece”.

Then I came across these words,

“Have a great day” is a passive statement. But “Make it a great day” means that I am in charge of making my day great.

I couldn’t get this principle out of my mind, so every day last week I set out to make that day the best it could be. My goal was to go to bed each night knowing that I had spent my time wisely and done my best for God, for others and for myself.

It was fun thinking of ways to fill each day with meaning and purpose. On the other hand, it was sobering to realize how much of my time I fritter away carelessly. The mornings that I don’t go into work are my main weakness, it can take me a few hours to really get up and moving.

So tonight I am setting out all my bike gear. That way when I wake up in the morning it will be easy to get out the door for an early morning ride and get a jumpstart on the day.

I can’t wait to see the sunrise!

 

26 thoughts on “Make it a great day.”

  3. I always prepare my bike commuting stuff the night before. This usually saves me time, except this morning when the mittens I was going to wear were not in my bike commuting gear box (next to the front door). I found them tonight, in my coat. I wore them on the days I drove to work. Ugh!

    Not all frittering is wasted time. You do need to recharge your batteries now and then.

    My friend who is a yoga devotee once reminded me: “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow may not come. Today is all you have. Make the most of today.” She told me this 5 months after her best friend, whose future was so bright, was killed by a bus. I told her in response, “So we have learned.” It put a huge smile on her face.

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    • That is one of my main problems. For work mornings I get my stuff all ready to go before I go to bed but on my days off I don’t, which is rather silly. I need to change this habit so that I am always ready for a ride!

      You are 100% right, rootchopper. Frittering can be a good thing. And I am the introverted type so I need time by myself to relax. But I often over-fritter. It is all about balance, isn’t it? And balance is tough!

      Thanks for sharing this story with me, it is a powerful one and so true. We only have today.

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      • I struggle with finding this balance as well. On one hand, I am rather introverted as well so I need a lot of alone time and quiet time to recharge. But I often over-fritter as well, wasting away hours and hours on days that I have off, just drinking coffee and surfing the web. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I think I could cut back on that time and be more productive. You’re right, balance is tough!

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  4. I really should do that prep the night before thing .. I usually do a mad rush in the morning … I guess I’m just a procrastinator. Unless it’s an event, I don’t have any motivation to set everything all up the night before.

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    • Thank you Erik! I felt super motivated last week, but who knows how long it will last 😉 The sportive you rode in the other week looks like lots of fun despite the messy roads, I have never been on any organized ride but I am looking to try at least one this summer!

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  7. Awesome post! Thank you for the inspiration. I really needed that this week; it’s been a tough one motivation-wise, and I feel like I’m just wasting so much time not really doing anything. I have the entire week off this week, because the restaurant I work at is closed for renovations, so I really need to make an effort to not over-fritter my days away!

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    • I am so sorry, Helena! For some reason my spam filter ate your not-at-all-spam comment.

      I did not realize that you work at a restaurant as well! I hope you are enjoying your week off and finding a balance between relaxing and getting some stuff done 🙂

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      • Yep, I am a server at a little cafe owned by my good friends. And usually at least once a day I get the question, “Did you ride your bike in today?” both from customers and my coworkers. Haha! Anyway. This week was more relaxing than getting stuff done, but I’m telling myself that’s okay, relaxing is important too. 🙂

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      • Same here! It seems like a press conference whenever I go out into the dining room in the morning 🙂 That is wonderful that you were able to relax, I think it is always good to have a change of pace now and then!

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  10. It’s an inspiring way to live – day by day – making each one as good as it can be. We mightn’t always reach masterpiece standard but its intentional nature sets the wheels in motion.
    Nice post Bri!

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