New Year's Resolutions: Stars to Guide Us

Every year I set new personal goals to start my year. Every year I look back on the goals from the previous year to see how I did. Most times, I did some, not others. We also do family goals. Same thing...we do some, and not others. It could be discouraging... but really, in reality, it is inspiring... that you at least did something.

When my kids were growing up, we did personal and family goals. We posted their own goals in frames in their room and our family goals on the fridge. I am not sure they did all of them all either. But I do know that they accomplished many of them. And we did many as a family too. And they saw the important things year after year in their rooms everyday. Like preparing to serve missions, do well in school and attend college, get married in the temple, love their family, live the commandments, etc. They also put less significant things down but important to them. They sometimes groaned a little at Family Home Evening as they got older, but did them nonetheless. I like to look back on them to see what they felt was important. They obviously had some influence from us when they were young, but then they became automatic expectations for themselves, as well as their parents.

I don’t know if it really mattered or not....guess I will never really know.
But I do know that many of those goals were accomplished. So I have to believe that this exercise in setting goals is a good thing. We did it in YW, RS and Scouts for years. I think that is where I got started doing it.

It is good to expect something of ourselves and our kids. Many times , it is the thing that keeps us going. Because someone believes in us and we believe in ourselves...we carry on. We can just putz along in life..or we can accomplish things that make us happy. When we accomplish things and contribute to our families and our church’s and our neighborhoods, we are happier. When we are busy and we work at things, we are happier. When we feel like we are doing good and serving others, we are happier. When we follow the gospel, live the commandments and follow the counsel of our church leaders, we are happier.

I think if our goals are based on these things, they serve us well. They need to inspire us, not immobilize us. We need to re-evaluate them and if they aren’t working we need to re-vamp them. Sometimes it is ok to just carry them over to the next year if we haven’t accomplished them. Some goals will be on their year after year, as a reminder they are always important. Some goals are unrealistic and just get tossed out. They’re really are no rules. Goals are just ideas to help us and to help us measure our progress. I like to think of them as stars. Stars to guide us.

I like to make lists everyday of things that I need to do short-term that ultimately help me accomplish my long term goals. Most days I don’t do them all. I just carry them over to the next page on another day. Most of the time, I am the only person that sees them. But it feels good to cross things off and to look back at them and see all that I have done and still want to do.

One of the goals I set last year, was to start writing stories about my life down and making a book for each of my kids. And getting Greg to do it too. If fact, It has been a goal of mine for several years. Having the journal class offered through RS this year, has inspired me and helped me to get it accomplished. This year we gave our kids each a book of stories for Christmas that we will add to every year. I think they liked it...no one really said. But I know I loved doing it and feel good I accomplished one of my goals.....even if it took me several years. Resolutions, Goals, Stars..whatever you want to call them. Ideas that help you be better. Start writing them down. Here I come 2009.