The New Year and Goal Setting

Goals for the New Year

I've never been one to set New Year's goals - mostly because I used to think people who set goals for the new year want to fail.  But over the years (mostly in the blog sphere) I've watched as some very reasonable goals have been set and then saw those who diligently worked to accomplish said goals without dropping the ball.  When I was at the hospital, I saw how they gave me daily goals and we reached them.  It gave me a sense of accomplishment no matter how small.  I set a few goals for 2010 and feel I am headed in the right direction for our family such as what to teach for family home evening.  We are using Preach My Gospel and have been looking through the Friend and Ensign for paintings, coloring pages, and photos that go with the section we are teaching making it more kid friendly. I've been able to find more family history information and photographs. So as you can see, I need goals to keep me moving forward, doing more of the right things, and feeling happy inside.

It didn't hurt that this scripture has come to my mind over and over again the past few weeks:

Mark 12:30

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

and this one too:

Doctrine and Covenants 4:2

Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.

So what does heart, might, mind, and strength mean exactly? One of my teachers in the MTC said this:

Heart: Emotionally

Might: Spiritually

Mind: Mentally

Strength:  Physically

I think that helped me understand how to break down that daunting task and figure out a way to apply it to my own life. So I sat down with a little notebook and began to write down my goals - one or two for each area.  I hope that this will help me to love and serve God better.  My daughter helped me with some suggestions and it really helped me to see her enthusiasm.  She is working on her Faith in God book. 

Anyway, I'm not going to share what my goals are just yet incase you decide this is the direction you want to go in your goal setting too.  I'll just give you some clues.  I'd love to hear your ideas too so please share!

Emotionally: For less worry and more peace of mind I am going to _________________________________.

Spiritually: I want to read _________ and mark each reference to _______________  in ___________ colored pencil.

Mentally: Complete a minimum of ______ ________________ lessons a week.

Physically: Find and purchase __________ snacks with more carbs to prevent headaches and ____________ _____________ each week to prevent colds.