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Everything Old Isn’t Always New Again

For many people the New Year offers opportunity to make new mistakes curiously similar to mistakes made during the old year. I don’t see any sense in making new mistakes when I can easily requisition the old ones for duty during the New Year.

And what’s wrong with my old mistakes? The only thing I can think of is that I did not work hard enough to make the most of them. Too many amateurs have given mistake-making a bad name.

Most mistakes have been so poorly done that in the New Year to come I have to re-do them. And, quite frankly, I’m tired of it all. I’m anxious to move on to new areas of mistake making. I’m convinced there are mistakes to make I have not even dreamed of at this point in my life.

My resolution for the New Year is to make sure any and all mistakes I make will be as thorough as possible. I refuse to leave any mistake before its time. But when its time comes, I want to make sure it is accomplished as perfectly as possible.

The majority of people this coming New Year will not make any new mistakes, they will dust off old ones and redate them for the current year. What a waste of time, in my opinion.

Allow me to offer some help that will guide this pursuit the coming New Year.

1. Look back over the old year and make a list of all of the mistakes you have made. If you are a husband, solicit help from your wife who will be able to remember all of those mistakes you have forgotten. (Not to mention one or two you didn’t do.)

2. Go over each mistake on your list and determine if it needs repeated for the New Year. As I say, there is no sense in making new mistakes if you’re not finished with the old ones.

3. For every mistake from the previous year that does not need to be repeated, place a nice red star in front of it. That mistake can now go into your Hall of Blame, which will never have to repeat again. Of course, you will have some mistakes that even though they have been well executed are well worth repeating. And you know which ones they are. Don’t you?

4. Now look at all of those mistakes needing repeating during the New Year. Prioritized them so you can begin the New Year with a good plan. As you prioritize this list think of ways in which you can improve on your mistakes over the past year. No satisfaction compares with doing something as good as you can.

Everyone generates mistakes, which is healthy. What is unhealthy is thinking you have not made any mistakes, which is a mistake.

A mistake well executed is a mistake never needing repeated. During the New Year, execute as many mistakes as your conscience will allow.