New Year's Resolutions

     I love New Year's Resolutions! I have talked to a lot of people who don't and they all have decent excuses, sort of. The best excuse for not making New Year's Resolutions is that you're way too busy with your November or December goals. Of course, the truth of the matter (in my not-so-humble opinion) is that people who say you shouldn't wait for a new year to make goals, however correct they may be, probably haven't made any goals in the past few months either.
     Every year, on the first Sunday of the year, if I have an opportunity to 'teach' in Sunday School or wherever, I always do a lesson on goals and resolutions. This year, I was sharing with a group of young men who have heard it enough times that they knew what was coming, there was almost a slight murmuring at the mention of goals - in fact, one boy, who's grandfather had mentioned in a previous meeting that he didn't like the word 'goal' but preferred 'objectives', said that he hated goals 'cause he never knew if he ever met them. Well, like always, I think have a solution for him - write it down, make it measurable, measure it, adjust if necessary, whatever, just don't let life happen to you instead taking charge.
     Well, the lesson didn't necessarily go the direction that I had hoped it would. I had been thinking about it for two weeks. I had a ton of examples and stories to share. However, for all that I had prepared, the day before, I still didn't have anything from inspired sources... I thought that surely goals and resolutions weren't just my passion, but some prophet or apostle shared my excitement for choosing your future. LDS.org makes this easy to figure out. President Kimball and Elder Ballard are great resources! In fact, a talk by Elder Ballard from 1981 became the new basis for our discussion, with my thoughts and experiences becoming side notes. And President Kimball had a motto that is just one word off of my favorite saying of all time - "Do it!". I am a Nike man and have been since spending 2 months with Elder John Sierra Downer on my mission. I love the 'no excuse' attitude behind 'Just Do It!'
     Well, I thought I would be having these boys come up with a list of resolution for the year, the month, and the week. But as it turned out, I guess the focus really was that they had the amazing opportunity to determine their futures, but only if they were willing to think about it long enough to decide what they wanted to be and write it down. It turns out that writing it down (as well as deciding to do it) is the key.
     In a study sponsored by the Ford Foundation, the 'studiers' found that of the people studied, 23% have no idea what they want out of life and sort of just float along, 67% know what they want but have no specific plan for getting there, 10% have specific, well defined plans, but 7 of those 10 only achieve their objectives 50% of the time, but the other 3 reach their goals 89%. And, as you already know, the difference is that the 3% write down their goals.
     In another study (done to confirm the results of a mythical 1953 Harvard or Yale study) goal oriented businessmen tracked their goals for a period of time. It was found that of the goal oriented businessmen, goal writers reached 50.47% more of their goals than non-writers.
     Whether you believe or care about statistic or not, doesn't really matter to me. I only stated them to lend credibility to something that I believe to be true - something that I have believed and practiced since 1990 or 1991. I had Mr. Clayton for a health class in the 8th grade. He had experienced a lot - he was 72! But the the only thing that I really remember (besides the source of STDs - meaning how you get them, not where the originated) from his class is that he had a friend that carried around a wad of papers in his back pocket. I think it was five sheets of lined paper, but it could have been two. On these sheets of paper was his list of his goals for the year. Included, for example, was a list of all the 50 books that he wanted to read. Each morning and night, he would read his list, checking off the things that he had done and reminding himself of the things he hadn't yet done. Mr. Clayton asked if the list wasn't more depressing than helpful, after all, when the year was over, there were plenty of things that he hadn't completed. His friend said it wasn't not - he was positive that he read more books than he would have if he hadn't made the goal to read 50 books. That's really the only specific goal that I remember, but I think there was more to it than just having goals and a list of things to do. See, this guy had a positive attitude about his goals but Mr. Clayton was more concerned about the depression that might result from not achieving.
     Positive Attitude - that's what Elder Ballard said that's how you get to higher ground. Next is worthy goals and self-discipline. Write the goals and place them where you'll see them every day - on the bathroom mirror or refrigerator door. Then do it - no excuses. Make a difference.
     I learned from an older, wise friend this simple truth - in 4 years, 4 years will have passed and you will be 4 years older. Brilliant, huh? He had a sister who was 49. She wanted to go back to school to become a school teacher, but told her mom that in 4 years she would be 53 and didn't know if it was worth it. Her mom said, "Well, you'll be 53 anyway. Would you rather be 53 and not a teacher, or 53 and a teacher, 'cause either way, you're gonna be 53."
     And even though I didn't share that story in our discussion, that's where we ended up - in 2, 4 or 10 years, you can become what you decide to be now, or you can just be 2,4 or 10 years older. Wouldn't you rather decide what you'll become than life deciding for you?
     That's why I make resolutions. That's why I write them down. I will JUST DO IT - and I will choose what IT is, every day, every week, every month and every NEW YEAR!

P.S. HAZLON is an incorrect plural conjugation (like people in Villa Harding Green, Buenos Aires, Argentina spoke) of Just Do It, in Spanish.

McKellar Family Photo