I still remember the exact moment I decided to have good handwriting. I was in middle school. Self-aware, I came to the realization I could do better. Chose. Thought about how I wanted to make each letter. Practiced a little, sure, but not a lot. And then it was done. There was something I wanted to change about myself and so I changed it. There was never even a shred of self doubt. No inkling of an impossibility due to ill-equipped genetics. No voice in my head ushering in defeat before I even saddled up to a starting line.

All these years later, I don’t have the best handwriting in the world by any means but I think that’s a pretty cool path to self-improvement. What if we could always just decide? What if we could say, “Well, I guess I could be a better listener,

oboe player,

power point maker,

driver…

more outgoing,

compassionate,

organized,

trustworthy…

so I will.” and just…

leave it at that.