This is the time of year when time is spoken of very often. Whether it be for the new year to start or college application deadlines, time is of the essence.

Time for some reason is always counted down. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and the ball drops.

Why do we always count down?

We encourage our kids when they’re little to learn to count. How do they learn?

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Then to 10. Then to 20. Then to 100, 1000, and the number is limitless.

We are so proud that they count to big numbers.

So why do we start to count down as we get older and not up?

I think that one of the greatest reasons is that we don’t know how high we’re counting to.

If we knew we had to count to 117, we would start counting and get excited the closer we got. We don’t know how high we have to count, so we get discouraged at every peak. Many people felt like they failed at personal goals because a landmark, the end of 2017, was passed.

If we start to understand that counting up is more impressive we will get excited at every landmark along the way. We will celebrate that 100 or 1000. Counting up is much more difficult and even more satisfying when we finally get to that last number.

We like to have complete control of our circumstances. We want to know the outcome, what to expect. We like to control our own destiny. So having a goal in mind, a number makes sense.

Yet in some situations in life we have little or no control. This is when we must learn to not count down but rather count up!

Perseverance is one character trait that we must teach our kids to have. We must show them that we will continue to count, rack up another day and never quit no matter what the circumstances.

So ask yourself this question:

How high can you count?

Remember it wasn’t the end of anything yesterday. It was merely a landmark along the way.