One Day or Day One?
Across the world, the New Year was celebrated a few days ago, and without a doubt, it is one of the most significant days globally. It cuts across race, culture, geographical boundaries, and religious beliefs. There is something special about the first day of the year, the 1st of January. It is a time when people make new resolutions, resolving to start a new habit or begin anew. Nowadays, there are numerous apps, self-help guides, journals, and diaries to assist people in their new beginnings.
The current date system is not too old; it was established after the declaration by Pope George VIII in 1582 (exactly 442 years ago) as an improvement over the then-prevailing Julian calendar. Compared to the thousands of years of human evolution and the formation of societal structures, this date system is relatively new. The current calendar system is called the Gregorian Calendar.
Why is there a fascination with the first day of the year? One of the reasons for this fascination is the sense of newness, an opportunity to start all over again. It is similar to your first job or your first love—the anticipation of something new and positive.
There is an equally large number of people who don’t believe in starting something on January 1st or who have resolved not to make any resolutions. They don't believe in starting fresh on the first day of the year, perhaps due to their inability to keep New Year's resolutions. There is another set of people who constantly postpone whatever they want to start; you can call them chronic procrastinators. They will do things they want to do "one day."
Each one of us might find ourselves in one of these states at various points in our lives or in different circumstances.
The “one-day” mindset is mostly a losing proposition because that day never comes. At the same time, starting fresh on the first day of the year is good, but it may not be easy to sustain over a long time. The middle path is having the “DAY ONE” mindset. It is the context in which one lives his/her life. Today is the “DAY ONE” of the rest of your life. The tech giant Amazon is obsessed with the Day 1 mentality; for them, it is about customer-centricity. Their cultural framework states, “Day 1 is both a culture and an operating model that puts the customer at the centre of everything Amazon does.” “Day 1 is about being constantly curious, nimble, and experimental.”
The DAY ONE mindset is about creating an empowering future one day at a time. It is not based on the past. As Peter Drucker said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
Now, it is up to you. Do you want to start working on your dream project “one day” or today? Your DAY ONE.
End note:
Date and time (as indicated by the clock) are human constructs; you can use them as tools but need not be enslaved by them. You exist independently of these constructs. Whatever you want to do, you can do it, and there is no right day for it. If you wish, you can start it now, today. Today is the DAY 1 of the rest of your life. You don't need a detailed plan of action to start your journey. Focus on only the next step that will take you towards your goal.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
Lao Tzu
References
- Georgian calendar - https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gregorian-calendar
- Amazon Day 1 culture
- Article idea - inspired by the video One Day by Levi Causton https://www.instagram.com/levicauston/
- Quotes - https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/lao_tzu_137141