I guess we'll just try that again

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." Winston S. Churchill "Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor." Truman Capote Well, folks, 2024 ended up a flop for me. A total failure. Bupkis. At the beginning of the year, I laid out in this space a long list of things I hoped to accomplish in 2024 to make myself a better husband, a better father, a better publisher, a better man. I finished exactly zero. I'm still the same old guy. I'd hoped to read 13 books before the year ended. I read three. I'd hoped to lose 30 pounds or so. I think I gained 10. I'd hoped spend time reading the Bible every morning. I read some, but definitely not every morning. Not most mornings. I'd hoped to journal every day and never put pen to paper. I'd hoped to learn Spanish. Todavia no entiendo. I have no good reasons for the complete collapse of my initiative. I just let life get in the way. I got busy. I got stressed out. I got tired. Excuses, I suppose, but it all seemed legitimate at the time I opened my phone instead of a book, scrolled Facebook instead of downloading a language app, watched TV instead of trying calisthenics again. I kept thinking, "There's always tomorrow," and going to bed optimistic I'd somehow wake up with motivation. But it didn't happen. And it didn't happen. And it didn't happen. It didn't happen 364 tomorrows, and I woke up Wednesday morning in a major deficit. I'm envious of my son. He's 16 and has for the past couple of years set fitness goals for himself. And he meets them. He's at the gym most days. He puts in the work. And he's seeing results. I suppose the fervor of youth and the lack of demands on his time help him, but he still has energy and a level of dedication I just can't seem to muster. But 2025 is a new year. God still gifts me breath in my lungs, and that means I haven't lost. That means I can start anew and push to meet at least some of my goals before the ball drops on New Year's Eve this year. I know it won't be easy. It'll take dedication and focus and planning and energy I'll have to pull up from somewhere that seemed beyond my reach in 2024. But it's possible, because 11:59:59 Dec. 31, 2024 was not my finish line, praise God. So I can read more books. I can spend more time with my Bible. I can eat better and exercise. I can download a language app and finally learn some Spanish. I can quit vaping. I can journal. I can be better. That is the spirit of New Year's Day. Fresh starts. New beginnings. Second chances. Opportunity. But the truth is we can carry that spirit with us at any time of any year. At any moment, so long as God has given us another moment, we can begin new adventures and new efforts to better ourselves or the world around us. Anything we haven't done is just something we haven't done yet, so long as we wake up to a new sunrise. The only failure, as they say, is in giving up. This year, Jan. 10 is Quitter's Day, the second Friday in January, by which time most people say they've abandoned their New Year's resolutions. But anything you could do on Jan. 9 you can do on Jan. 11. You can go for a walk or a run. You can join the gym. You can practice a better diet. You can download the Bible app. You can crack open a book. You can quit that bad habit. You can learn a new language. You can reconcile with enemies or reconnect with long-lost friends. You can finally get organized. You can improve your relationship with your children. You can. You can. The only thing we should ever quit is quitting itself. So join me, my fellow 2024 "failures," in giving it another go in 2025. Wake up. Thank God for another day and ask him for strength. Then try again. We can do this. Justin A. Hinkley is publisher/editor of The Alpena News. He can be reached at jhinkley@TheAlpenaNews.com.