Chapmanesque—The Hidden Habit
Here are a few sentences to start off the opening paragraph of sentiments you’re likely to hear this time of year as well as sentiments you’ve probably heard already this time of years in the past: Here we are with a new year where we get to find a natural fold in our lives to incorporate changes that should lend themselves into bettering who we are as we embark upon the next trip around the sun.
The start of a new calendar year—or as I like to call it “Shiny Shoe Season”—is the time where we get to resolve ourselves to attack the next 365 days with gusto! We get to set those goals, start a-fresh, strive towards new all while shedding the failures, the let downs, the disappointments, the poor deeds, the bad thoughts, the ill wills, the missed targets of the previous 365 days.
January 1 is, like I said, a natural fold where we get to start with a clean sheet of paper. It’s where you get to see all the new athletic gear and “shiny shoes” at the gym until what the internet has informed us is Quitter’s Day, the second Friday in January.
For many, those shoes will stay shiny and, more than likely, unused. Those newbs who are in your way at the squat rack most likely won’t be there in two weeks, so give it time.
Last year, I resolved to write more, and I’d grade my overall performance as…meh. I wrote. I wrote a good bit for work. I wrote a good bit for Alderman stuff. I wrote a fair amount for personal publications, but I can certainly do better. So I’ve given myself a personal goal to write more. We’ll see how that turns out.
The best one, in my opinion, was “The Case for Caring—Why You Should Give A Damn.” (How’s that for a shameless plug of a previous post?)
The Hidden Habit
If you haven’t read Stephen Covey’s book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” there is no better time than the present to read it. Heck, cheat and listen to it on your audiobook player of choice.
The 2nd Habit on Mr. Covey’s list is “Begin with the End in Mind.” You can’t travel down the path if you don’t know where you’re going.
It’s like when Alice asks the Cheshire Cat which road to take but says she doesn’t know where she’s headed. He answers, “Then it doesn’t really matter, does it?” Direction comes from purpose.
The 7th Habit on the list is “Sharpen the Saw.” There’s a great Art of Manliness podcast episode and corresponding article all about Sharpening the Saw. It’s worth your time, I promise.
But, as you can tell, the subtitle to this section is the Hidden Habit. This hidden habit lies within the purpose of sharpening the saw. Remember, Alice had no clue where she was headed and thus had zero reason to go one way or the other. Direction, as stated, comes from purpose.
If we’re to begin with the end in mind, then we need to apply that same logic to sharpening our saw. We don’t sharpen the saw for no reason. We sharpen the saw for a purpose: to attack the tasks that come our way. We need to make sure our tools, our attitude, our purpose and drive are prepared for the jobs we’re given.
So, as we embark upon this new calendar year, I hope you had the chance to rest and reflect on what tomorrow brings. We need to rest with the start in mind so that when the starting gun fires, we can then begin with the end in mind.
I Wish You A Happy New Year
We’re not all starting the 2026 race from the same starting line.
I have two friends who have experienced the loss of young loved ones very recently. Their starting lines are heavy.
I have friends who are facing some unknowns. Their starting lines are shaky.
I have friends who are beginning the year with big changes. Their starting lines are extremely different.
And I have friends whose January 1 looks no different than their December 31. Their starting line looks the same-old-same-old.
It’s the journeys that make the stories, so we can’t just sit on the sideline and expect our narratives to continue. Good or bad, our stories are our stories.
I can’t wait to see what the next chapters of our lives look like. If we attack them with purpose, offer a little benefit of the doubt and remember to treat others with real (not made up) kindness, we might just get to see how things unfold.
I wish you a happy 2026. Here’s to the journey!
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