The day’s agenda included a trip to Hattiesburg, Miss., to pick up my daughter, Elise. Two hours there. Two hours back. Knowing the trip home would be spent hearing about Elise’s Atlanta visit, I used the time driving to Hattiesburg to think, pray and read the signs.      

Although I didn’t need a thing, after learning of the places I could eat, shop or fill up my tank, I became tempted to stop. A few billboards later, I began to think of these little towns along the way. Places I had never visited. Points of interest I have previously zoomed by. I began to wonder if I was missing out on anything. Then, in the time it took me to whiz by another announcement of a nearby McDonald’s, I began to think of my trip a little like my life. Well, all of our lives.

Sometimes it’s easy to stay on that straight and narrow path, never ever deviating, eyes on the prize, full speed ahead. At other times we may stray, momentarily distracted, but never veering too far and quickly returning to the main road. And then there are those times when we lose focus and leave the path, sidetracked by the next pretty sign promising another adventure. Once there, disenchantment sets in. Or boredom. And the place seems as flat as the billboard that lured us. Then we move on to the next new attraction, the main road growing smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror, destinations, missions, goals delayed and sometimes forgotten.

It’s almost time to turn the calendar page to 2013. The optimists among us view it as a huge gift that will slowly reveal itself. The pessimists are waiting for social, economic or personal disaster. Others are just surprised that the Mayans were wrong and the world didn’t end.

How do you view the New Year? Which road will you travel? What’s your goal for 2013? Restoration of a relationship? Starting or finishing a degree? Losing weight? Gaining financial freedom? Reading a book? Writing a book? Completing repairs on your home or taking a trip? What is it?

Write it down. Read it in the morning. Take daily steps toward your dream, and do not wander from its completion. How much faster it is to arrive at our destination when we stay on course. Let’s enter the New Year with a purpose, a vision, a definite goal.

If 2013 goes as well as my trip to Hattiesburg, I will not only complete my objectives, but arrive at them on time. I’m ready. Are you?

Ronny may be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com.