I know, I know… Give it a rest, right?

But December 31, 2015 is now exactly 51 weeks away. One whole week of 2015 is gone.

I hope it was a good week and a lovely start to your year. Each of the next 51 weeks will disappear just as suddenly.

I tend to overestimate what can be accomplished in a week or two, thinking I can completely revolutionize my life in a fortnight. (Yes, I just used the word fortnight for the first time in my life. The joy of this landmark moment that you are sharing with me right now, it’s inexpressible. This glow of vocabulary achievement will linger for at least, what, fourteen nights, maybe.)

I, however, tend to underestimate the impact of incremental, consistent, even if slow, improvement. Just keep being awesome in small ways, and do it over and over even if you don’t notice any big change. You can usually only see the big change looking back on it over a long period of time. It sneaks up on you. You can’t see it while it’s happening.

But you won’t get there by trying to check off your list of awesome in one fell swoop. Just start. Do what you can with what you’ve got where you are. And then keep at it and improve just a little. And 51 weeks later you might truly surprise and delight yourself.