Everyone knows about The List.

Santa makes it. He checks it. He checks it again. Are you naughty? Nice? We don’t know. Santa does.

The List is why we have elves sitting on shelves. It’s why kids brush their teeth more and pay closer attention to their homework after Halloween.

The List is the gateway to the perfect Christmas — overflowing stockings and a mountain of festively wrapped presents under the tree. Nice kids are promised their wishes will come true. Naughty kids are told they will find nothing but coal.

Perhaps it seems a bit mercenary or even commercial. Are children being bribed for good behavior? Is it right to use the threat of the naughty label to steer their behavior?

That’s not the way to think about it.

The List is hopeful. The whole idea is a constantly open opportunity to move from the naughty column to the nice one.

There’s potential there. With the electric undercurrent of excitement pulsing in the holiday air, The List doesn’t demand perfection. That’s unrealistic.

Instead, it offers forgiveness. It encourages choice. It fosters change.

It also says we are not locked into our worst moments. That tantrum before dinner? That lie about punching your brother? There’s a way to redeem almost anything with a little effort and direction.

And that’s not something that should be reserved for kids.

Maybe there isn’t a list for grownups. There may not be a tally of how often we floss or whether we paid our taxes on time.

But every day is a chance for us to choose to be naughty or nice.

We can feed our ugliest impulses — giving in to greed, malice, anger and violence. Or we can nurture our better angels — strengthening the muscles of generosity, goodwill, patience and peace.

The end result might not be candy canes or coal. It’s both quieter and more consequential.

We aren’t choosing which column we will end up in. These choices are about the people we want to be and the world we want to wake up in — not just on Christmas morning, but every day.

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