The beginning of a new calendar year is always a good time to reflect on the previous 12 months and set some goals for the future.
During this time of the year I am often reminded of the poem 鈥淭he Dash鈥� by Linda Ellis. The poem refers to the dates on a person鈥檚 tombstone, the birth year and year of death, separated by a dash.聽The poem makes the point that the dash represents what you did with your life from the time you were born until your death.聽
Were you a loving parent? An accomplished researcher?聽Community volunteer?聽Respectful child?聽Maybe you were the person who thought right before passing: 鈥淚 hope I activated my autoreply.鈥� Or maybe you were the person who during that last minute thought, 鈥淲ow.聽I lived my life intentionally and I invested my time wisely.鈥�
I propose that instead of a dash, this year and every year after we substitute the dash with an exclamation point to symbolize a life lived purposely and intentionally, with excitement and gusto!
How should we achieve this goal? Perhaps by focusing on a short list of activities or things that we may want to try, and setting a time period to complete them to make sure we hold ourselves accountable. Or perhaps make spending time with family and friends a higher priority?
What about setting boundaries between ourselves and our technological habits, such as our cell phones? That way, when we are in a meeting, catching up with a friend at a caf茅, or having dinner with our family, we can really be in the moment, instead of missing the interaction because we are consumed by 鈥渃apturing鈥� the moment 聽on camera so that we can enjoy it 鈥� later.
After all, it鈥檚 not about the destination, but the journey 鈥� the everyday; the little things that in retrospect will become the big things, or the fond memories we will retreat to during challenging times.
Or what about making it a goal this year to do something great, something we can all do:聽volunteer. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 鈥淓verybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace.鈥�
Volunteering or serving to improve one鈥檚 community is something we can all do. For some reason, people make volunteering seem like too much of a burden. They become overwhelmed by the thought of becoming involved, because they say they don鈥檛 have time, don鈥檛 know where to begin, or don鈥檛 consider themselves equipped with a skill unique enough to be appreciated or in demand. 聽However, there are many ways in which you can exercise good citizenship and involvement that will probably lead to a happier, more exclamation-centric life 鈥� over the simple dash.聽
I invite you to explore mentoring a student or a younger professional, serving on a committee at your local YMCA or chamber of commerce, or reaching out to one of the many nonprofits in your area. Whether you are passionate about the arts, the wellbeing of animals, making connections on behalf of the local Boys & Girls Clubs, or lending your expertise through a community advisory board, there鈥檚 an organization or an individual you can positively impact, with little or no financial outlay required.
And the best part is that, more times than not, you will derive just as many benefits than the entity or organization by way of receiving personal fulfillment and a greater sense of community.聽
So this year, join the exclamation point movement and make it your best year yet!
Maritza Martinez is director of the University of Central 性视界传媒鈥檚 Community Relations department.聽She can be reached at Maritza.Martinez@ucf.edu.