Today Is The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life

In my last blog, I wrote about words to live by, in this blog I want to continue on in the same vein with the quote, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life." This was said to have been first introduced by Charles Dederich, in the early '60's.

Charles Dederich was the founder of the drug rehabilitation program "Synanon." He devoted his life to helping individuals, who had major drug addictions, change their lives to become free of those addictions. While his methodology, as a treatment program, left something to be desired, in my opinion, because many of its members did not became free of the program; it did benefit many.

Just what does, "today is the first day of the rest of your life," mean actually? It has to do, primarily, with cutting off one's personal past, and starting new. Most people would respond, "Easier said than done!"

While this was a very important insight; one which every person would benefit by remembering every morning, it is, "easier said than done." This blog has been about separating ourselves from all of those things which keep us from changing ourselves, not only the way we have been, but from even questioning what we have been Programmed and Indoctrinated to believe is the past.

Many philosophers have written around the idea, "If we do not remember our history, we are doomed to repeat it." It is one thing, however, to remember our history, and something else entirely to have to be drug, kicking and screaming, into something new. (Somehow, politically/socially, in this country, we seem to be locked into a perpetual philosophical battle between those who wish to hold on to the past, and those who think "change" is the solution to all the world's problems.)

Our memories, including our Belief Systems, are essentially what most people think with; relatively few rely on empiricism as part of the equation. (According to the dictionary, "empiricism" is a Philosophical doctrine that all knowledge is derived from sense experience.) Followers of today's religion of Science, equate this method of achieving knowledge with quackery.

Why is the idea that, "all knowledge is derived from sense experience," such a threat to the status quo? Because it has to do with trusting our intuition, feelings, and personal experiences. Due to our Programming and Indoctrination, all that we take in in these ways, is filtered through our resultant Belief Systems; all of which keep us from ever seriously considering the possibility that it is possible to change our lives. (For those who do decide a change is required, it is usually the result of a personal life crises.)

Deciding, outside of a personal life crises, to change our lives, is the equivalent of stopping a major addiction; we are addicted to our old ways of being. If one approaches the idea of changing oneself, to requiring the will and dedication to the goal of, say, stopping smoking, it may fortify you, if you want to change your life, to actually starting the process.

We are further burdened by, and chained to, our past history by peoples', (family, friends, acquaintances, etc.) memories of us, which, when in the presence of such people, pulls us back to our old ways of being.

Humans, being social creatures, are rarely alone; most of our time is spent with one or more people around us. When alone, other people assume that we must be, "lonely." People who prefer to be alone, are thought to be somehow, "strange," or "anti-social." By spending all your time with people who have known you for some time, old friends and relatives, for example, you are pulled back into old ways of behavior by their expectations that you are the same as you have always been.

Consider adding "alone time," to your schedule; this can be in the form of Journal writing, spending time in contemplation, meditation, exercise such as walking, just listening to quite music, involvement in a hobby, etc., etc. Doing so, will help you withdraw from your "people addiction," if you have such an addiction.

If you want to change an addiction, (a habit) such as smoking, you must also change all those other habits around the addiction--taking a break, having a cup of coffee, etc., etc.--until the target habit is in remission.

In order to change your life, you must also consider all the things that feed into, or are related to the thing you want to change. I have suggested a number of ways to begin, but only you can begin. It has been noted by many who spend time encouraging people to change in even some small way, that it is only the exceptional individual who actually will try it.

So, if you want to be exceptional, this is a way you can do it.

I leave you with, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life"; try to do just one thing different today than you did yesterday.

Shirley Gallup