The New Year begins a new chapter in our book of life. What will we write on the blank pages of this new chapter? Will this be the year that we do some of the items on our bucket list? Will we fulfill some of the dreams that have been on the back burner? The pages will contain either wasted opportunities or realized opportunities. What is written on our pages is up to us. We hold the pen.

As we begin this New Year, it is wise to pause and evaluate last year's journey, to ask what the old year taught us about ourselves and life? In what ways have we grown? What changes do we need to make to have more meaningful lives?

By reflecting upon last year, we can avoid spending all our time and energy oiling the "squeaking wheels of life" and missing what is really important. As President Eisenhower once said, "The urgent is seldom important, and the important is seldom urgent." Too often, life is controlled by the "tyranny of the urgent." We put aside higher and more worthy goals to put out fires.

In planning how we will write the pages of our lives, we would do well to remember this statement: "We don't want to come to the end of our lives and realize that we have lived someone else's dream." What will our legacy be? What is our purpose in life? How can we make the world a better place?

We would be wise to consider a survey taken of people over 95. They were asked, "If you could live your life over again, what would you do differently?"

The most frequent answers were:

1. I would spend more time in reflection. We need to slow down and have more quiet time.

2. I would take more risks. We need to challenge ourselves for life is about growing and maturing.

3. I would do more things that would live on after I'm dead. This reminds us that are not living just for ourselves. These are not the worst of times nor the best of times. This is our time, and it is up to us to make it the best of times for those who follow us.

Dawson Trotman, the founder and first president of The Navigators, captured the problem most of us have when we begin: "The greatest time wasted is the time getting started." So, our challenge for the New Year is to reflect, learn, make new commitments, and get started on them. Have a happy, healthy, prosperous, and meaningful New Year.