GOAL!

 Happy New Year! This is the time of year when we all realize that we don't even remember what 'new year resolutions' we made last year, and we resolve to make new goals!

. . . But lets be honest, goals can be discouraging. What happens when year after year I continue to make goals that are never reached?

Here are steps to magnify goals that I have discovered, and am continuing to discover.

 1. Set Some!

Marvin J. Ashton tells us, "A prerequisite for “doing” is goal setting. Actions are preceded by thoughts and planning. All of us must take charge of our own lives. We must evaluate the choices that are open to us, and then we must act positively on our own decision. An old proverb states, “A journey of one thousand miles begins with the first step.”'

It does not hurt to try. Making a goal is the first step to achieving greatness. 

2. What kinds of goals should I set?

So now you're ready to set goals, but what goals do you set? How many? Are there different kinds? Let's go to the perfect example.

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. [Luke 2:40]
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. [Luke 2:51–52]

From these scriptures we see that Jesus Christ grew in 4 aspects: mental (wisdom), physical (stature), spiritual (waxed strong in spirit), and social (favor with God and man).

When setting goals, try to address every aspect of being. But the important truth to remember is that Christ grew. We do not become perfect all at once, we must learn and grow "here a little, and there a little" [Isaiah 28:13]. Goals should help us become more than we were before. Yet these goals should be reachable, attainable. Making unrealistic goals only leads to disappointment. 

3. Make Specific Steps

Each goal we make should have specific steps. These steps make it more likely for us to execute the goal and it helps us to know where to start. Instead of making a goal to "EXERCISE MORE", make a goal to "exercise more by. . . " Allot times to complete goals and follow steps. For example, if choosing to exercise more, perhaps you will make steps to get a gym membership and go to the gym every Tuesday at 7:00. Another way to make goals more realistic is to give specific numbers. For example, if choosing to read the scriptures more, perhaps you will make steps to read a chapter every day. Goals are about honing in on what needs to be accomplished in order for that goal to be reached.

4. Quality is More Important Than Quantity 

While setting specific numbers to our goals can enhance them, remember that quality is more important than quantity. If your goal seems small or pathetic next to your friends goal of running 14 marathons, then don't be discouraged! If your goal is helping you improve, then it is a worthy goal. Do not make goals that compete with the goals of those around you. Those goals that compete become goals for other people, not yourself. Keep the focus of a goal on self-improvement. Be a better you! 

5. Put Them Where You Can See Them

Hang your goals up somewhere you can see them.Write your goals down and put them in a place you will see every day. Put them on your mirror. Put them on your fridge. Put them on the TV remote. Put them on the steering wheel of your car. Put them on your calculus textbook. . . oh wait. . . not there. 

6. Tell Someone About Your Goal

The best way for me to reach goals is when I tell someone about my goal. This should be someone you trust that you know will help you along the way. Ask them to send you reminders. Or maybe you do this:
http://oneshetwoshe.com/2014/07/never-miss-day-reading-scriptures.html. Telling someone about your goal makes you accountable and more likely to achieve it.

7. Work

Don't you love President Monson? :) Goals take work. Many times this work is uncomfortable and out of your comfort zone. But it is necessary. If you want goals to happen, you must realize that work is required. Establishing a routine can help. Habits, once created, become easy. It only takes 21 days to start a habit-- after 21 days your goal will seem more attainable than when you began.

The best time to start a habit is now. Don't think "I will start that goal tomorrow" when the opportunity is available now.

 8. How Can the Sabbath Help With Goals?

So what happens when your goal to eat less junk food is thwarted by the party you went to on Friday? What happens when your goal to pray morning and night was conquered by sleep?

Just because you slipped up once (or even twice or fifty-two times) does not mean that you are a hopeless case. Try to be better today, now. Have hope for the future.

One of the blessing of the Sabbath Day is a chance to recommit to goals. When we partake of the sacrament, if we have thoroughly repented, it is as if we have been newly baptized. We can be cleansed weekly of the mistakes we have made. Take the opportunity every Sunday to recommit to the goals you have made.[https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2010-07-053-upon-my-holy-day?lang=eng]

 9. 2016

What about when 2016 has rolled around and you still haven't finished the Book of Mormon like you said you would?

And if you're not better today than you were yesterday? Then that's okay too. That's what the atonement is for. Its not about where we are on the path, but which direction we are going. "You have not failed until you quit trying."-Gordon B Hinckley