Goals

It was my turn to teach the twelve and thirteen year old girls in church last Sunday.  The lesson was on setting goals.  Rather appropriate for this time of year, I think, with New Year's Day only a few days away. 

I've never been one to set New Year's Resolutions, mostly because my birthday comes close on the heels of New Year's, so I tend to start goals then.  (For some reason, Christmas always leaves me feeling lazy and I never get around to setting them by the beginning of the new year.) 

When I do set goals, I tend to break them quickly.  The reason is this:  I have delusions that I am Superwoman.  Seriously.  My goals tend to go something like:

"I want to be healthier.  I will do this by:
-Never eating chocolate
-Never eating anything with sugar in it
-Eating at least 5 fruits and vegetables everyday, and preferably 5 per meal
-Running for 30 minutes every day
-Practicing martial arts every day for an hour with my husband
-Exercising with the kids every day for at least half an hour to keep them healthy too"

And that's just one goal. 

Is it any wonder that within a couple of hours of starting my goal, I'm sitting on the couch (right next to the treadmill) and eating everything in the house that's remotely related to chocolate and sugar?

It's taken me far more time than it should have to come to the conclusion that goals have to be realistic.  I tried to emphasize this to the girls on Sunday.  Goals have to be something that you care about and they have to be achievable.  If I picked ONE of the parts of the goal above to work on, I'd have a lot more success and I would still be getting "healthier."

I mentioned to my husband after the lesson that I tried to emphasize achievability.  He laughed at me.  "You said that?  Did you record it so you could listen to yourself later?"

And you thought I was kidding about the "healthier" goal.  I wasn't.

Many years ago, David O. McKay came up with Ten Rules for Happiness.  The first is to develop yourself through self-discipline. 


I am sorely lacking in self-discipline and I don't feel ready to move on to the other nine rules.  So this year I'm going to work on developing self-discipline. I'm going to clean the bathrooms twice a week, and vacuum three times a week, and clean the kitchen after every meal, and write 2,000 words a day, and read to my kids at least half an hour a day, and exercise for an hour . . .

And I'm right back where I began, giving up on my goals before I've even began. 

Okay, I admit, that's not reasonable.  I suppose I'll have to ponder on some reasonable and realistic goals to develop self-discipline so I can move on to #2. 

What about you?  What are some of your goals for the new year?  Some of your reasonable, realistic goals, that you actually care about achieving?  

For those interested, the Ten Rules of Happiness are:
1. Develop yourself by self-discipline.
2. Joy comes through creation - sorrow through destruction. Every living thing can grow: Use the world wisely to realize soul growth.
3. Do things which are hard to do.
4. Entertain upbuilding thoughts. What you think about when you do not have to think shows what you really are.
5. Do your best this hour, and you will do better the next.
6. Be true to those who trust you.
7. Pray for wisdom, courage, and a kind heart.
8. Give heed to God's messages through inspiration. If self-indulgence, jealousy, avarice, or worry have deadened your response, pray to the Lord to wipe out these impediments.
9. True friends enrich life. If you would have friends, be one.
10. Faith is the foundation of all things - including happiness.