Many people view the New Year as a clean slate, an opportunity to put the past behind them and start a new. It sounds good to me! I like the idea that today is day one in the unwritten chapter of 2008 of my life.

Talking about it in that perspective, that it is day one in the unwritten chapter of 2008 reminds me of one of my favorite songs, Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield. The lyrics in the song talk about starting over and how the future is unwritten.

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

That’s a really great way to look at things at times, whether it is the start of a new year, a new job, a new relationship, or a new adventure.

Of course, even with new starts, we are going to make mistakes. We are only human. Another part of the song covers that.

I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines
We've been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can't live that way

The past doesn’t escape us, the issues are still there, the mistakes still haunt us, but at some point, we have to try and move forward, right?

Personally, it’s hard for me, I try not to beat myself up for the mistakes I have made in my past, but honestly there are times I get down with myself and I do. But then I have to remind myself that those mistakes are in the past. I can’t rewind life and go back and re-do them. I have to try and forgive myself and accept that the past is the past. However, I can control the future, the unwritten chapters in my life. I can learn from those mistakes, share them with others so they might not make the mistakes, and make changes in my life so that I don’t make the same mistakes again.

So, here’s to the unwritten chapter of 2008!

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Your Year in Three Words
New Year's Resolutions

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