Every day, we have an opportunity to make a fresh start. If you woke up this morning, then that is God’s message to you that He wants to give you a new opportunity to improve yourself and your life. Today, you have the opportunity to break bad habits. Today, you have the opportunity to end dysfunctional relationships. Today, you have the opportunity to start actively pursuing your dreams.

Normally, we think of making a fresh start after a big event, like a divorce or the loss of a job. But I believe that God wants us to think of every day as a new beginning. Your circumstances today may be the same as yesterday’s circumstances. But you don’t have to approach today in the same way.

For example, let’s say that yesterday nothing seemed to go well. Your spouse was grouchy. Your kids made a big mess in the living room. Your co-workers were unhelpful. By the end of the day, you felt defeated, as though nothing in your life was going your way.

Today is the day to change how you see your life. Yes, we have frustrations in life. But focusing on them doesn’t help anything. We all have to deal with people who occasionally do stupid things. I can honestly say that one of my biggest regrets in life has been to pay too much attention to people when they were acting like idiots. That was wasted time that I will never get back. Today, you can start ignoring the bad behavior of others, and start focusing on improving yourself.

And that is what fresh starts are all about. Ignoring the noise – other people and their unsavory opinions and behavior – and getting started on the work of improving yourself. You are the only person that you can control. So, your energy should be spent on daily improving yourself.

Every morning you have an opportunity to commit to taking one small step to achieving your dreams. Imagine if you did that every day? Let’s say you have a dream to go to college. If every morning, you took one small step to achieve that goal – whether it be to apply for college scholarships or research schools or study for the SAT – you eventually will achieve it. Success isn’t an overnight process. It is more like filling a bucket with water, one drop at a time. Eventually, the bucket will become full. It just takes commitment, time and patience.

Every morning, you also have the opportunity to start fresh and break bad habits. Let’s say that you have the bad habit of negativity. You have what I refer to as Chicken Little Complex – the sky is always falling. Not only are you exhausting yourself, but you are exhausting everyone around you. Today is the day to turn that around.

The best way to get rid of the “negativity” habit is to only verbalize positive thoughts. For instance, in your brain, you may be thinking, “I will never get this job.” However, what comes out of your mouth should be, “I have a good resume. I think I have a pretty good shot at getting this job.” Or, instead of pointing out what others are doing wrong, try limiting yourself to only commenting only on the good things that other people do. If you take this approach, not only will you be more pleasant to be around, but eventually, your brain will become trained to see the good in others and in every situation, rather than the bad.

Today is the day you can make a fresh start with regard to how you treat your body. In the last month, I made a commitment to only drink water or green tea. That sounds quite spartan, doesn’t it? However, after a couple of days, I got used to my new habit. And while Starbucks misses my business, I feel much better! In this last month, our family also has given up eating chicken, beef and pork. It was a huge lifestyle change, but we all feel healthier as a result. And for my part, I feel morally better to not be eating meat. All these dietary changes started with my getting up one morning and saying, “I am going to make a fresh start in how I treat my body.”

Every day, you have an opportunity to make a fresh start as to how you live your life. Today, start laying the groundwork for becoming the best person that you can be. Use today to make those small changes that will put you on the path to self-improvement in every area of your life.

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