Being Resolute

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We usually think of resolutions, and what we want to accomplish in our lives at the beginning of a new year.

A few years ago I was lucky (or well organized with my time) enough to attend a mini-class in Relief Society where the presenter focused on goals and how we should plan our goals. He said, among other things, that:

1- Goals should be written, so we could remember them later

2- There should be big goals, and small goals. Maybe the latter could be included in the former

3- We should put a quantifier in them. Ex: ‘I’m going to lose 20 lbs this year;’ as opposed to ‘I should lose some weight this year.’

4- There should be a deadline. Ex: ‘I’ll finish my canning by the end of October.’

So, let me share with you how we do it at my home. We get together the first Monday (Family Home evening) of the New Year, and have paper and pencil ready. After prayer and song, we take a few minutes to put our thoughts together and decide on our goals for the year. It helps to have the paper where the goals for the previous year were written, to make our list for the year ahead.

We also put our heads together to come up with goals for the whole family, such us: Are we taking a family vacation? Where? How are we going to pay for it? What kind of sacrifices are we willing to make? Or, Are we growing a garden this year? Are we going to get together faithfully to help with the weeding? Are we willing to sacrifice our time, to get a plentiful reward?

After we share our own personal goals, Dad prints them on a piece of paper that we stick to the refrigerator. Throughout the year we check our goals and cross off the ones that we’ve accomplished. It gives us a sense of fulfillment and ownership of our decisions.

How do you do it at your home? Please share your comments with us.

To view a copy of the Neighborhood News for Wednesday, 12 January, please click here.