Today, I ran into the ocean.
I'm here in Charleston almost every New Years Day. It's a great place to start the New Year. One of the great traditions here in the area is the Polar Bear Plunge. On Sullivan's Island, Dunleavy's Pub hosts this crazy event to raise money for Special Olympics. Last year they raised $60,000! And today, Nathan, Libby, and I took the plunge. It was crazy! Many people have asked me, "What in the heck were you thinking? Are you nuts?" While the answer to that second question is not necessarily up for debate, I want to tell you WHY I decided over 2 weeks ago that on January 1, I would be running into the Atlantic Ocean.
I don't think everyone should do this. Some folks would probably have a heart attack.
I'm not really a daredevil or adventure junky. Although I do like cliff jumping.
No one dared me, bet me I wouldn't, or even paid me to do it. I wish.
Quite frankly, it's a whole lot easier to just stay inside, kick your feet up, and relax in the warmth of the glow of the 55" flat screen with football endlessly numbing your mind. Every year up until now, that's exactly what I did. And that's why this year I decided it was time for a change. It's time to stop automatically taking the easy route.
It's time to stop talking about memories and start making some with my kids.
It's time to stop defaulting to easy, lazy, clean and tidy. It's time to get dirty.
It's not about doing the opposite of what you always do. It's more about prayerfully examining WHY you always do WHAT you always do. And for me, beginning to ask that question and kick it in the teeth meant running into the freezing cold ocean on New Years Day. And if I'm being honest, it was awesome! Now my question is, what does that mean for you?
What's going to be different this year in your life?
What are you going to determine to change?
What memories are you going to make?
What are you going to do NOW to determine that it happens THEN?
Let's hear it. How are you going to make 2014 extraordinary?
Happy New Year!
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