Something that always keeps me going, and eager to start a new year, is the opportunity to set new goals…fun and exciting (for me) goals. It also helps that I actually completed the goals I set this past year, so I am raring to go for 2013.

Waiting for things to happen in my life gets me down, so I have decided I need to move forward in a direction that speaks to me, calling upon the powers of heaven to keep me focused long enough to finish something of worth. My goals range all across the board. Some are big, others are small, some weigh on me, others are fun and keep me happy. I’d like to share my goals with you for two reasons:

1. By writing them down I have made a commitment. Last year, I wrote them down on a scratch piece of paper and taped them to the side of my bed so I could see them every day. It felt great to be able to cross them off my list as the year went on. Some, I admit, I had to be in the mood to do, so seeing them every day helped me plan and psych myself up for “the event of accomplishment”.
2. I hope to influence someone to do likewise.

My goals don’t have any rhyme or reason to them. It’s just what I feel I need to do in my life right now; no doubt the Lord has something to do with this. But since my interests range all over the map, I tend to lean toward crazy, so goals help stabilize me just a little bit.

Here is a very important tip about setting goals: Always create a measurable goal so you can celebrate the happy moment of completion. Here are my 2013 goals:

• Complete three courses in my schooling.  I am working toward my Bachelor’s degree with BYU’s online program. With a lot of focused work and short goals I was able to finish three courses this past year, so I know I can do it again. If I’m able to get a fourth class started, so much the better.
• Record and organize the family history records we gathered from our trips back east. My husband and I have gone on three family history vacations over the years. Yeah for us! Only I have never done anything with the information we gathered. I haven’t even looked at the photos of headstones, or pages of information we captured, but now must glean information from. This is one of those things that has been weighing on me, so this is the year to do something about it.
• Put together car kits for each of the cars, revise 72 hour kits, and fill the empty containers I have stacked in the basement with flour, sugar, rice, and oatmeal. Yes. I admit it. My storage is lacking and I need to focus on building security in my home.
• Attend the temple once a week for four months straight. I’ve been thinking about doing this for a while now, and it’s time for me to follow through. I figure I can accomplish four months. I may just continue endlessly.
• Study the words Joseph Smith spoke at the Nauvoo Female Relief Society meetings and the key Doctrine and Covenant scriptures that teach about the Priesthood until I can rationally, fiercely, and spiritually defend my divine nature, purpose, and destiny as a woman of God. The Lord, the prophet, and the Brethren (over the years) have spoken much concerning the importance of righteous women. I need to stand up and smell the holiness of womanhood.
• Take a book making class where I can learn several ways to bind books. I took one class this past year and fell in love with the idea of making my own books. I love books—to read, to make, and to fill with all of my colorful, deep thoughts.

The thing about goals is that they don’t always have to last twelve months. Some goals can be completed in an intense 3-4 month time period. I can work on most of these goals one at a time, or a couple of days each week, or whatever creative, non-overwhelming way that I feel like. Working on goals as a group becomes an exercise in FUN. Consistent little steps moves me closer to my ultimate goal, so breaking things down to manageable activity is its own reward.

There are many more things I would like to accomplish this coming year. Realizing it’s not wise to have too long a list of goals, I’ll add to my list as I mark others complete. For the past several years I have listed my accomplishments at the end of the year and found great satisfaction in seeing my goals satisfied. It is also personally fulfilling to record the surprising additional triumphs I have surmounted in the process.

I hope you’ll take on your own list of goals, challenges, and accomplishments this year and join me in joyous fulfillment.