The Big Decision… Is Only the Start
New Year’s Eve is one of my favorite times of year. Not because I’m into resolutions or anything, but simply because it holds a sentimental place in my heart.
I made quite possibly the biggest and most important decision of my life on New Year’s Eve, one that has brought me infinite joy.
On the change-over between 2014 and 2015, on a beautiful bridge on the San Antonio Riverwalk, fresh off an untold number of adult beverages and lively music in an Irish pub, I was asked a simple question, to which I gave a simple answer.
But one that invariably changed the course of my life, and made me so much of who I am today.
That simple “yes” took me on a wild ride from San Diego to Alaska, has given me 2 children, a few wrinkles, and more lessons than you can imagine.
Pictured: the difference 9 years (and cell phone camera technology advances) makes…
This year, almost exactly 9 years to the day from the first “yes,” we paid a visit to where it all began.
And really reflected on what has changed…
And everything that has happened since that fateful question 9 years ago. Can you see the excitement 🤣?
More than Just One Yes
Jokes aside, it is amazing what the last 9 years has brought us. But, did it all really come from a single “yes”?
Hell no.
The big decision is just the start. It's easy to say yes.
The true test of what you’re made of, and the full extent of the amazing things you can build and create, are determined by your willingness to recommit to that yes (and live out everything it entails) daily.
Every day after that first yes, you’re faced with daily decisions and moments where you can choose to recommit to that yes, or fail to do so.
What’s not pictured is the daily habits, the micro-decisions, the days where it is hard, and the days where it is wonderful. But those tiny moments; that constant, gentle pressure to always be better are really what takes you from A to B.
Loving the Process
While consistent recommitment to the original “yes”and the daily choices you make sounds like hard work, and it is, it is also full of joy.
Nothing worth having was ever easy to get. And while there are hard days and easy days, every day comes with little moments of joy that mean more than anything else in the world.
Learning to love the process is how you make it easy to get from A to B. Rarely do I stop and think of exactly where I expect to be in 9 years from now. Instead I focus on the moments that make my heart sing every day.
Snuggled up reading a book before bed, even if it was preceded by an argument about brushing teeth. Laughing over a silly face, even if just before you were frustrated about work.
If you’re in love with the process, the daily work it takes to live out the commitment you made with the first decision, you’ll suddenly find yourself, 9 years later, wealthier than the richest man in the world.
