I made the goal to write a blog article at least once a month for the year of 2017. It's January 25th. Whoops. But hey? I haven't passed the deadline yet so I am still going strong.
Ooo.. how I love a new beginning. A time to reflect on the last year and yet January is almost over and I have already forgotten half my goals. Anyone in the same boat? Yeah... good times guys. I think 2017 is the most foggy year yet. I really have no idea what lies ahead or what to plan for. I didn't even know if I would be back in Rexburg as of a month ago. So I have decided to share my not-so-secret-secrets of how I am making goals this year. (ps: I would love to hear and all of the tips ya'll have. I could use all the help I can get.)
1. Start with a vision- Where do you see yourself in a year? 5 years? 10 years? This always seems to help me to not feel like all of this is just a waste of time. So instead of making a goal like "I want to lose 10 lbs this year." Think why. How does this play into your vision? I envision myself being happy and healthy so that I can travel the world and go backpacking and camping and play tag with my kids without rolling over and heaving like a Wiesel. Okay. Now I actually feel like working out today.
2. Don't ever fall into the trap of "That's just the way I am"- Ooo... that gets me every year. Every time I sit down to think about something I want to change this little lie comes creeping back in. As soon as we accept that, we are denying ourselves even the possibility of change. We are here to learn and grow and improve. "I can't get out of bed in the morning I am just not an early riser." "I can't get good grades, I am just not smart enough." I can't. I can't. I can't. YOU CAN DO IT. Whatever "it" is for you. If you want it bad enough, you can do it.
**Disclaimer: That does not mean you try to do everything at once. *guilty* I have definitely learned that one the hard way. Sometimes I wish that were true but what we can do is improve in those areas. We do not have to just accept our weaknesses. Rather we can change them with God's help. Starting today.
3. Get help- You can try your very hardest to do it alone but you will fail. Trust me. I am one of the most independent people and every time I try to do this, I fail. Think of all of the cheerleaders in your life, ask them to help you. For some reason I think we all believe this is a sign of weakness and that we can do it all by ourselves but we don't need to. People WANT to help. On top of that we have the person who could help us more than anyone else: Jesus Christ. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ you can accomplish any worthy goal. Take your goals to the Lord.
4. Analyze your desires- Let me expound on a "worthy goal." On Sunday morning our teacher brought up this quote: Whatever you are be a good one. It really made me think. I made a list of everything I was or wanted to be in the short term- visiting teacher, friend, sister, roommate, girlfriend, student, citizen, member missionary, lifter of people, etc. Be a good one. How can I be a good visiting teacher? Make a goal about it. How can I be a good friend? Make a goal about it etc. Then I could really see what my desires were and how to get there.
5. Reevaluate- Let me tell you probably the biggest secret of all: Once you make your goals, they are not set in stone. I know. Crazy. If you have already made goals it might be time to reevaluate. Go back to that list you made and think about each one. How are you doing? Are there any you need to tweak? Maybe things have changed this last month in ways you didn't foresee. What are you going to do about it? We can change our goals all throughout the year. Actually we SHOULD change our goals all throughout the year. That way we are always going back to our list and seeing the improvements we are making. Whatever you do, do not give up. Changing your goals is quite different than throwing the whole thing out the window. You felt it was right before. It can still be right, maybe just different.
Happy goal making, friends. It is never too late for a new beginning.
