December 31. “Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment.” (Zig Ziglar)

When I am learning to do something new, I almost never get it right the first time. In fact, I may not get it completely right the first few times. To become good at anything takes repetition. One of the reasons that I am not good at home improvement projects is that every one of them is a “one in a row” experience. Each time I take something on, I do it only once for the project, and then don’t use that knowledge or fledgling skill again for a period of years – if ever.

But those things that I do often can and do become ingrained into my memory. I can get to the point where I do them almost automatically, without much conscious thought.

In my experience, repetition is necessary for any kind of lasting lessons.

Today my reflection is on those things in 2015 which I will repeat enough to become new actions, which will lead to new skills and open the door to new accomplishments. I don’t know what the year will hold for me. I have ideas about goals, and I will pursue those. But the truth is that the year will unfold before me, and doors will be opened that I don’t even presently know exist. I am looking forward to another great year.