New Year's Goals

When I was in high school one of my English teachers assigned a paper in which I was to list and describe my goals for the next five years. I wrote the paper, turned it in and forgot about it. A few years later, the paper was returned to me. It arrived during a particularly difficult time in my life. I read:

I will go to college.
Check.
I will graduate from college.
Check.
I will go to France.
Check.
I will get a job as a teacher.
Check.
I will get married.
Hmmmm.

The power of setting goals and writing them down was sitting in front of me. I had reached all of the goals I had set for myself that I had complete control of. (A marriage is a difficult goal to accomplish by yourself!) As I reflected on all of my accomplishments, I realized my current depression and unhappiness came from my lack of new goals and dreams. I was plodding along just trying to survive day to day instead of having a plan and knowing how my day to day routines are helping me get to a better place or to become a better person.

At this time of year many New Year’s resolutions are made but statistics show that after three weeks 50 percent of those resolutions have been abandoned. Webster’s Dictionary defines a resolution as “the state or quality of being resolute; determination.” The word by definition seems restrictive and unchanging. I prefer the word “goal” which is defined as “the result toward which effort is directed.” Effort may ebb and flow but a result shines in the distance and inspires.

There is great power in writing goals down. Writing them down takes them beyond a fleeting wish or a vain hope. One of my New Year’s traditions is to write down new goals each year. I begin by reviewing the previous year’s goals and checking my progress. I am always amazed at the goals that were accomplished or the steps that were taken toward their accomplishment without even realizing that I was doing it. Then I proceed to set goals for the current year. Some goals need additional time and continue from year to year (i.e. lose weight and become fit) and some goals are brand new.

Goals are an eternal principal. “Improvement and progression have one eternal round.” (“If You Could Hie to Kolob”, Hymns, 284) Goal setting and achieving are so important that the Lord has provided many resources for us, especially our youth, to teach us how to set goals and to progress. Faith in God, Personal Progress, Duty to God and Pursuit of Excellence are all excellent resources to help us to continually “increase in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:52) “The program teaches you to make commitments, carry them out, and report your progress to a parent or leader. These are patterns you will use throughout your life to learn and improve as a woman.” (Young Women Personal Progress, p. 7)

One wise woman in Layton, Utah felt she needed some spiritual enlightenment and after browsing the shelves at the Distribution Center decided to study the Young Women Personal Progress program. Through following the program and setting goals, she experienced a greater sense of spirituality. One stake Young Women president teaches, “The Personal Progress program will enhance anything they (young women) are doing. Personal Progress helps a young woman make all things spiritual, from school work to church work.” Although Faith in God, Personal Progress and Duty to God are all designed for the youth, they can help all of us at any age and if you have children 8-18, I challenge you to study the programs alongside your children. It will enhance your relationship with them and strengthen your testimony.

How do you set your own goals? My favorite goal idea is based on the idea of goal setting in the business management realm. I’ve adapted them to fit my purposes.

Goals should be SMART.

S-specific, What exactly do I hope to accomplish?
M-measurable, How will I know when I have accomplished it?
A-attainable, Is it realistic? Am I able to do it? Am I willing to do it?
R-report, Who do I report my progress to?
T-timely, When do I hope to accomplish it?

In the 2007 General Relief Society meeting Sister Julie B. Beck said, “In order to do our part as women under the Lord’s plan, we must stand strong and immovable in faith, strong and immovable in family, and strong and immovable in relief. We must excel in these three important areas which set us apart as the Lord’s disciples.” We can no longer haphazardly live from day to day. We must have a plan and we must help our children plan to excel and progress as the Lord’s disciples.

After reading, rereading, pondering and studying that essay from my English class, I realized that I was depressed and unhappy because my progression had stopped. I was surviving instead of thriving. Goals help us to thrive in our lives, spiritual and temporal.