Self-Improvement

"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do; not that the nature of the thing itself has changed, but that our power to do it is increased." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

It's the time of year for resolutions and goals so for our Family Home Evening this week we talked about what makes a good goal and how we'd like to improve our lives in 2018. The girls spent a little bit of time writing down their goals and a whole lot of time making beautiful posters of their resolutions to hang up in their rooms to remind them of their plans. They were all thoughtful about what they wanted to work on this year and made SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely) like we'd talked about in our lesson. I'm excited to see how they'll grow and change this year as they work on their goals.

Samantha's wardrobe doors are so colorful now!

I kind of struggled with narrowing my focus for goals this year. The girls were all finished with theirs, even with the pretty posters, while I was still trying to figure out what I want to focus on in 2018. Part of what took so long was the fact that I kept thinking of more things I should really improve in my life. And part of it was that I decided to not just write down my goals but to also break down each one a little bit so I had a plan for achieving all those goals. But here's the question - is twelve goals too many? Because I've got twelve things I really feel I should be working on this year. There are a couple that I could probably cut but I'm going to move forward and hope for success.

Goals take hard work and perseverance and too often I lose the motivation to keep moving forward. This year though I'm really optimistic about my odds of being successful for a couple of reasons. First, because I've made a simple plan for each goal to help me along the way. In the past, I've been really good at setting goals but not so good at making a plan to achieve those goals. Which might have something to do with my lack of success with New Year's resolutions in the past. Accountability is the second reason I'm feeling hopeful about this year. There's power in social expectations! I looked it up and you increase your chances of completing your goal by 65% if you commit to someone. So I'm sharing my goals here and will be checking back in periodically to let you all know how it's going.

Here's what I want to change and improve in my life this year: 

• Exercise for at least 30 minutes five times a week - I finally like exercising but I still sometimes struggle with being consistent and making it a priority in my day.
• Buy no new clothes in 2018 - seriously! I have more clothes than I need, more clothes than I wear, and I don't need anything new. 
• Stick to our grocery budget - I often go over our grocery budget because I know I have the money to do so. We'll see how this goes, maybe I need to increase our budget from $500 to the $995 the USDA recommends for our family size and composition? 
• Read twenty-four books - This one is going to be fun! I love reading and need to make more time for it in my life. 
• Write more - I really just want to be more regular with writing here on the blog. Look for twice-weekly posts. 
• Follow weekly cleaning schedule - I am so good at the beginning of the week with sticking with my scheduled housekeeping tasks. But that dedication wanes as the week passes. 
• Daily scripture study - another thing I love to do but need to make a priority and be more consistent. Over the last five months of 2017, I really made some progress here and I want to keep the momentum going. 
• Complete four Personal Progress values - it's going to happen! I was a lazy young woman and never completed the program as a teenager. 
• Call or message two family members or friends each week - this shouldn't even have to be a goal. Sorry family and friends.
• Hold regular companionship inventory with Jared - how have we made it 21 years without doing this? Probably should have made sure Jared's on board with this one before setting that goal.
• No phone or computer use before the kids leave for school - this is just something that needs to happen. My phone should not be the first thing I look at in the morning. 
• Actually mail birthday cards (and on time too!) - another apology to family and friends here. I stink at remembering to send cards. 

Here's to keeping my New Year's resolutions this year and not just making them. Wish me luck!