MY GOALS AND DREAMS

By Jolene Webb

At work, I have been working on getting the goals set for all of my sales reps. I also just finished taking a six month sales training course that was based upon improving sales but also improving in personal areas as well. We were required to set business goals and also personal goals.

Goals are what motivate us. They drive us to do better. If we just continue to do what we have been doing day after day, we will get the same results. Do I want the same results in 2016 that I had in 2015, or do I want to do better?

To get the results that we want, we must work. Activity plus quality = results. We must put forth some kind of effort to get results. Sports teams will set goals, such as winning the conference championship. The players then set out to practice shooting, playing defense, etc. They have work to do in order to achieve their desired goal.

I have a triangle that, at the bottom, states your mission, then moves up to core values and eventually reaches the top with your results. This is what it looks like:

Results

Daily Activity

Weekly Goals

Monthly Goals

Short Term Goals

Long Term Goals

Core Values/Culture

Purpose — Vision — Missions

Looking at this got me thinking about what my purpose in this life is, what my core values are, my goals, and what I can do to get the results that I want. I had never really truly thought about what my mission or core values were before taking this class. I have not been a big goal setter; I just try to do my best each day, but I now understand this is not good enough.

I started looking at our lesson from my sales class on positive thinking and attitude. We choose what attitude we are going to have each day; we choose to be happy or mad; we choose to build up or tear down; we choose to be positive or negative; to take responsibility for our actions or make excuses; to encourage or discourage, etc. I read an article on a study that was conducted which indicated that you take on the attitude that you present in an outward manner. The study had some people walk around with smiles and some walk around with frowns. It was shown that the people with smiles were happier than the ones that had frowns on their faces.

The article also talked about actions that we can take to help change our attitude. I thought it was interesting that it mentioned if you felt guilt about something, you should wash your hands or go take a shower. This would be a good thing to do along with repentance – make ourselves clean.

This made me think: Do I present myself as a Christian, or do I let my feelings at the moment portray something else. We have talked many times about our need to live our beliefs. The deeper our beliefs are, the more we should live in that manner. Do people know that I am a Christian by my actions? Do I show examples of what I believe by the actions that I take, by the way I treat people?

So, what can I do in my work, or what actions can I take that are high quality enough to get the results that I want? I have decided to set a few goals for myself which will help me become the person that I want to be.

Without works, goals are just dreams that will never be obtained. We have talked so much about building Zion, that we can’t put it off for our children to accomplish, but what are we doing to build that city? Have we set its foundation as a goal and then made every activity designed to get us to the result we want, or do we just dream about how wonderful it would be to reside there. I believe we must have goals and then have measurable steps to work toward those goals.

We cannot manage “how” we are doing if we don’t measure “what” we are doing. I started with the triangle.

What is my purpose or mission? To become a holy person that will get me to Celestial glory? What is my core value? To love as Christ loved, to love my God and love my neighbor. Then I need to look at long term and short term goals and then what my monthly and weekly activities will be to help me obtain those goals, and what my activities will be to obtain the results that I want.

It is not good enough to just want something, we must take steps to obtain it. I always think of losing weight. I always want to lose weight, but until I set it as a goal and then decide what I am going to change or do to make it happen, it doesn’t happen. Once I set the goal and decide what I am going to do to get there, I can have success.

I believe strongly that this is something that I have to do in my life in order to become the person that God desires me to be. It is not enough to come to Church and class and just go with the flow. Yes, I learn and I have grown, but not to the extent that I need to. It takes effort to really grow. You get out of something what you put into it. The goal I establish is my motivator and if we keep a goal in mind and have steps, it keeps us working toward that goal.

For 2016, I have decided that I am going to read my Scriptures at least 15 minutes each day. I will manage this by having a calendar that I will mark off each day that I accomplish this. That way I will know exactly how I stand in achieving my goal.

I am also going to write down my blessings for each day in a journal. This will help me manage my time and realize how great God is to me. It will help me appreciate that His hand is in everything that I do, and we are blessed so many times when we don’t even know. If I write it down each day, it will help me realize those times.

I will keep a journal for my prayer list as well by writing down things that I want to pray about. By writing everything down, it will hold me accountable to my goal and will motivate me.

I am going to complete the “Exercises in Growing Spiritually” book that I bought a couple of years ago. It has a lesson for each month, and then throughout that month you practice what the lesson was. It has scriptures to read and things to practice doing. It starts out by giving the year’s assignment. First, you are to write down your desires, both long and short term. Keep the list somewhere where you can look at it every so often. Here are just a few things that I wrote down now. I will add to this list as the year progresses because of my prayers and my study.

My family will be healthy and kept safe.

I will find success in my job and being a good leader for my team.

I will treat everyone with love, kindness, and

caring.

I will support my husband in all that he does.

I will be ready to help my family and friends in

any way that I can.

My children and grandchildren will have a relationship with their God.

The second thing to do each week is follow “What’s Your Heart’s Desire” steps which are: Fast two times each week; study; be willing; pray with faith.

It is hard to set goals, but we should have the long term success in our thoughts but not have our short term ideals be unrealistic. Take small steps and then grow on those. Even though I need to, it would not be realistic for me to say that I am going to read my Scriptures four hours each day. We need something that is realistic for us. Take small steps and build upon those steps to get results that we want. I want my goals to be more than just dreams that never come true. I want to become the type of person that will be welcome in Zion. The time is now to start moving toward that goal. What am I going to do to become that person that God desires and can help build the Kingdom? What are you going to do in 2016 to draw closer to our Lord?