Goal Setting for the New Year!

A new year is just around the corner, and I get just as excited for this time of year as I do about Christmas.

Setting family and personal goals is something that we are taught is very important for our progress as Latter-day Saints and as eternal families. Personally taking time to do this has truly changed my life and that of my family.

Some years ago, I felt very impressed that this was something that we needed to implement in our family, and after much prayer and reflection, we created a family theme with coordinating goals for that year. Since that time, we have created a new theme each year based on what is going on in our family, or in the world around us.

We have implemented family themes such as:

"Be Brave"

"Come What May and Love It"

"We Are Super, We Can Do Hard Things"

"Because I Have Been Given Much, I Too Must Give"

"Find Joy in the Journey"

From a few years ago

We have been able to work towards and accomplish many spiritual, secular, physical and emotional goals and have also been able to regroup and recover when we have experienced disappointment and failure. We have learned the value of hard work, tenacity, grit, sweat, determination and team work.

We use the first Family Home Evening in January to discuss our new theme for the year, and then we determine what monthly goals we can set in an effort to work towards this goal.

I have found it to be critical to have goals written out and posted in an area where everyone can see them. We use a Christmas card display rack that I keep permanently hung near our mud room where it is in a high traffic area for family members to see on a regular basis.

We discuss our progress multiple times during the month, and at the end of the month, we assess where we are at. If we have accomplished our goals, we create new ones and move forward. If we are still working on them, we regroup and try again. Sometimes a goal is even scratched completely if it is deemed to be too difficult or unattainable at the current time. We are flexible with this process to allow for growth and support, without putting too much pressure on family members.

2014 Family Theme and Goals

Our 2014 Goal Kick-off FHE included making lists of things we can do to "Be Brave" and then we used a slingshot like David did when slaying Goliath to nail these items to show that we can conquer when we try to be brave. The kids had a blast!

There are so many books and talks on this topic, but for the purpose of this blog, I would like to share with you the talk "How to Achieve Eternal Goals," by Elder Robert D. Hales

In it, Elder Hales discusses some of the most important goals we can make, as well as how to determine how we can set other personal and family goals.

Through the process of trial and error, I have seen and experienced how goal setting and progress can help us to have a more abundant life.