Today is an Opportunity

Today is January 1, 2026 – New Year’s Day. That one day a year when many of us try to start to make a change in our life. I love the idea in general. What I don’t love is that it only comes around one day out of every 365.

We may not know it; but every day we wake up there is at least one opportunity that we have in front of us. Yours may be veiled behind fear, pain, or other external factors that you have no control over. But nonetheless it is present.

The opportunity may not be grand or anything that anyone else in the world will see. But nonetheless it is present.The opportunity could be staring you in the eye every morning for the last week, month, or even last 20 years. But nonetheless it is present.

The opportunity could be a new business idea, a new relationship, or deciding to make a change in your lifestyle such as eating healthier or exercising.It could be doing something that lights you up. It really gets you into a flow that an earthquake can’t shake you from.It could be doing something that scares the shit out of you. Maybe it scares you and lights you up at the same time. That sounds like an opportunity that only comes along a few times in your life.

That opportunity might be fleeting and available to you today only. It might be available to you only for the next few minutes. See that cute girl ordering coffee that looked at you and gave you a smile; are you going to go say hi and introduce yourself?

The question is Are you going to lean into that opportunity and take action? That opportunity is going to require you to do something. There may be external forces at play presenting themselves to you, but ultimately a decision must be made by you to take the step. You and you alone taking the step. This step may be a big leap of faith like Indiana Jones had to take when he stepped out over the deep chasm when the bridge wasn’t yet visible to him. He knew, or at the very least could sense, that the Holy Grail was out there within his grasp – that was the opportunity calling his name. He took the first step; will you?

For me fear, lack of self-belief, and worrying about what others think has held me back – it always has. It manifests itself into feelings of unworthiness at work and in my personal life, sometimes severe anxiety going into social situations (I hate small talk), and even worry over the future and being able to support my family financially should something such as a job loss happen. So, what is my opportunity for today and what am I going to do about it? I am going to start by posting this. I want people to think I have my shit together. The reality is far from it. Some days are better than others and I am working on it. I try to meditate every morning; I journal and try to read some spiritual text every morning as well so that I get the day off on a positive note – just to give myself a chance from getting paralyzed to the negative feelings that can flood me.

Step 1 for today – say it out loud. Get it out of the shadows. It is no longer anything to hide from and sweep away into the closet with the rest of the junk that I am embarrassed about. This is the unvarnished, un-AI edited (is that a new term?), number one thing on my mind this New Year’s Day 2026. I don’t want AI to edit it. I have intentionally used certain words in this post as I felt like they were appropriate for me in this very moment and what I am trying to say so that I can let go of what others may think of my choice of word and if it is appropriate or not. If I made grammatical mistakes or if a sentence makes no sense – it is my truth in this very moment and doesn’t take away from who I am or the value I have – it just is; there is nothing to be embarrassed about or worry how others might judge it.

I think I may have also started this journey earlier this week. The image that goes along with this post is my daughter and I showing off our tattoos. We happen to share the same birthday: May 20. To honor the other person, we each got a tattoo of the other’s birth year. I have never been against tattoos, but have always worried what others might think of me having a tattoo. Too late – it is done. I can step through that door and get over it. It is not in a particularly visible place, but it is not hidden either.

Whatever challenge you are facing today – I do believe you can look it in the eye and take a first step. There is an opportunity present that is calling your name. Stop and listen. I can hear it, and I know you can too.