Where does everyone stand on New Years Resolutions? My usual rule is that I don’t make them, I have enough ways to disappointment myself, why add more? But this year I turn 50 so I decided to go big and made a bunch. I may have to add to my list, too, because after watching this interview with Carson Daly, I’m thinking about applying his resolution as well. In 2017, Carson lost both his mother and stepfather just five weeks apart. The loss was so great that Carson reevaluated how he lived his life and resolved this year to take it one day at a time – literally. He told Hota Kotb on Today that instead of eyeing the future for contentment, Carson compartmentalizes his time in 24 hours periods. Not only does he look for positive in the moment but constantly weighs how he can make that time the best it can be.
“I don’t want to get morbid, but you know I lost my parents a year and a half ago, so in the new year, I think more macro now,” Daly said. “I think bigger than just, like, the weight, the food — all that stuff is every day, we all struggle with that, we all do the best we can. My new thing is compartmentalizing.”
Daly said his family is first priority, always. The former Total Request Live host has been married to food blogger Sara Pinter since 2015 and the couple has three kids together — 9-year-old son Jackson James, 5-year-old daughter Etta Jones and 4-year-old daughter London Rose.
“My thing is just 24 hours,” he explained. “Now I wake up and I’m like, ‘Thank you God, I got a new day, a fresh day. How can I be the best husband, the best father, the best coworker, the best fellow citizen? I got today. I got right now, in this moment.'”
“Losing my folks, the fragility of life … it’s so crazy,” he continued. “I can’t believe I’m 45. I can’t believe I’ve been in Time Square for 20 years. I can’t believe I’m on the Today show.”
“Life goes by so fast that for me, now, it’s just like, live and marinate in that moment when I’m in a tickle fight,” he shared. “And then when I go to bed, it’s just like, ‘You know what? I hope I did good today and if God gives me another day, I’m just gonna do it again.'”
In truth, I doubt I would be able to do this, but I really like the idea. I mean, I live very much in the moment but I always have some future date to which I cling to get me through slumps and sadness. However, the sentiment is one I should adopt: don’t waste today by waiting for tomorrow. I also appreciate Carson’s idea of when you look back on your life, relish in all the things that have happened and not how long ago they took place.
Later in the segment (2:05 mark in the clip posted below), Hoda and Carson talked about Maria Shriver’s advice regarding embracing squabbling with loved ones. The point being made is little disagreements not only release pressure that might erupt into a larger fight, but also that healing begins the moment the pain is released. According to Hoda, Maria said ”Don’t fear the rupture in a relationship, don’t fear the argument.” I intend to make this my mantra this year and apply it to all my relationships. Oh, look at that, another resolution.
Photo credit: Today and WENN Photos
I like him. I just turned 60 and I have been living day to day myself for a few years now.
I have my days I look forward to but just live it daily for the most part.
I get it, in a way. I lost my dad to ALS three weeks ago, after a very long and difficult time with that horrible illness.
He was my real parent and caretaker as I grew up (my mom is mentally ill but that’s a whole different story). Once he was gone what has flashed through my mind, what has comforted me and held me up and kept me going, are a million tiny things. Not one big moment or event, but the gentle hugs, the hand on my shoulder, the soft calm voice, the moments of laughter, the questions of concern and the questions of true interest in my life, the smiles, the encouraging looks, the books read and songs sung, and again the hugs. All the tiny moments that make up a life. That’s all that matters. It has already changed the way I’m raising my little ones: my focus turns to the small interactions that make them feel safe, loved, cherished, and happy. Those are the things that remain. My kids aren’t worrying about whether I’ve signed them up for enough activities or whether the house is perfectly clean or whether I take them on enough trips etc. When I am gone I want them to remember a comforting hug, a book read, a song sung.
So I get it. In the end, life is small. It’s one day, it’s one minute at a time. I’m glad he shared this.
I am so sorry for your loss. It sounds like you have found a certain peace already.
You put it so well – Life really is about more than the material, “big” things we sometimes spend many years thinking are most important.
I’m so sorry for your loss. ALS is a terrible disease. Sounds like your dad was a wonderful man. Glad you had him in your life!
I’m so sorry for your loss. Wishing you solace and healing. I lost my dad a year ago this January to lung and then brain cancer after a long stretch of dementia. What you have said, what you have realized, about the moments that create a relationship and a life is profound and real, and I am so glad you have that to sustain you. Thank *you* for sharing. It all makes a difference.
I began living this way for reasons similar to Carson’s.
When you realize how quickly time passes and experience great personal loss, it either makes a person bitter or more cognizant or making the best of one day (or one hour, one minute) at a time. I completely understand what he’s saying – and doing.
How tragic. I lost my dad almost a decade ago and I still can’t bear to think about losing my mom.
I lost my dad in 2010 and mom in 2013. I’m 60-years-old and still miss them terribly. The sharpness of the pain has somewhat dulled with time, but it never goes away.
I get where he is coming from completely. My Dad has terminal cancer and isn’t expected to live more than a couple of months. Everything that isn’t important means nothing to me now, people complaining about trivial BS is nothing but annoying background noise … fear, sadness, worry are my companions while trying to make it through one day at a time. I have no idea what tomorrow is going to bring, so I am trying to be mindful about living in the moment.