Goals and Planning

[JudoMinja]

Take a look at your life right now. Just take a moment to ponder over where you’ve been, where you are and where you are going. It is easy to see where you have been, even easier to see where you are, but can you see where you are going? Do you know what your future holds? Where will you be tomorrow, a week from now, a month, a year, five years, ten years?

Those who travel life aimlessly and without direction will always wonder what the future holds. Some will look on the future in fear, some with hope, some with confusion. Others seem to care little about the future and give it no thought whatsoever; they focus only on the present.

We can know what the future holds. We need not wonder in fear and confusion. First, decide where it is you want to be. What is it that you desire for your future? Whatever your hopes and dreams, do not belittle them or think them impossible. Write them down. Make them concrete, so they are no longer dreams but goals.

Now that you know where it is you want to go, compare that to where you are. Are you acting in a way that will help you reach and achieve your goals? Can you connect the dots between where you are and where you want to be? It does little good to set a goal you do not know how to obtain. Any goal is going to require some work and effort, whether it be small or large. If you are not willing to do that work and put forth that effort, your dreams and goals will always remain beyond your grasp.

Someone dreams of joining the army. They decide they are going to do more than dream, they’re going to do it, but they never contact a recruiter, never take the asvab, and never get into physical shape. They graduate high school, get a part-time job at a fast food restaurant, and spend all their time and money on movies and video games. Someday, they say. Someday, I’ll join the army. Will such a person ever fulfill this goal? Not if they continue on the path they are currently treading. They must resolve to do the work that will get them in the army.

Someone wants to become a famous judge, dreams of having their own court tv show. As with the someone who desired to join the army, there is a specific path that must be followed if such a goal is to be obtained. The person must go to law school, work with a law firm, get to know the right people, and be very good that their job. Without completing these steps, this dream will never be accomplished.

To give our lives purpose, we must decide where it is we want to go and connect the dots between here and there. The scale of our goals can be far-reaching and all-encompassing. They can cover those things we wish to accomplish by the end of our lives, and small simple things like what we want to have done by tomorrow. As we set goals and make plans to reach those goals, we are charting a course for our lives, taking control, and giving ourselves purpose and direction.

We should set goals in every aspect of our lives, seeking improvement in physical fitness, knowledge, learning and intelligence, emotional health, talents and skills for recreational use, skills for work, interaction, and communication with others, organization and cleaning, family interactions, and most importantly our spiritual health and well-being. By setting these goals and following the necessary steps to achieve them we will constantly be moving forward and improving ourselves through work, study, and experience.

By setting goals and creating plans to reach those goals, we can find assurance, peace, and happiness that we are in control of the direction our lives are taking. Much like travelers and explorers who determine their destination and chart their course on a map, we can do likewise with every aspect of our lives. As members of the church, we also have the of having the Lord’s goals and plan for us already charted, we just need to make the decision to follow it. His plan will bring us ultimate happiness, because by following His plan new paths and roads are opened for us to follow and we are freed to choose the direction we wish to go.

When we choose to follow the Lord’s plan, our ultimate destination is to return to live with Him in all His glory and obtain all that He has. To reach this goal, there are several steps and smaller goals which He has set for us to accomplish. When we keep the commandments, are baptized in His name, receive the Holy Ghost, fulfill our callings, strive to live by the standards set forth by the prophets, receive our endowments, marry in the temple for all eternity, remain temple worthy and endure to the end, we will be living such a life that follows His plan and will lead us to the achievement of His ultimate goal for us.

This practice of setting goals and following plans requires action. Whether we want to compete in the Olympics or simply wish to maintain a standard of health and fitness that will allow us to do those things we enjoy, we must follow a diet and exercise plan that will help us do so. Whether we want to become a specialized surgeon requiring a masters degree or wish only to work as a carpenter, we must follow an education plan that will help us acquire such positions. Whether we wish to sing in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or simply to enjoy participating in musical activities with family and friends, we must practice our talents with a plan that will improve them for these activities.

Likewise, following the Lord’s plan is not a passive endeavor. It requires action, work, effort. We must learn what it is He would have us do, and do it. Just as it does the future army recruit little good to simply believe they would enjoy the army, it will do us little good to simply believe that the Lord’s plan will lead us to happiness. If we want to obtain the ultimate goal of eternal salvation, we must follow the path that will bring us to that goal.

Any destination we wish to achieve in any endeavor will require the following of a particular path and direction. Straying from the path will ultimately lead us somewhere else, unless we take the time to assess the direction we are going and our location in comparison to our goal, then redirect ourselves onto the path that will lead us where we want to go. Without doing this, we will never reach our goals. Without ever setting goals, we will wander aimlessly with no direction or purpose. It is in the best interest of our personal growth and happiness to set goals, take control of our lives, and follow a plan, most importantly His plan.

As we pick areas of our lives to work on and make improvements, we will find ourselves identifying more areas in which we can improve. Someone who finds great joy in playing musical instruments may identify one on which they would like to focus and improve their talent. As they learn of their instrument of choice and practice their skills, they will find more and more that they previously did not know, becoming more and more familiar with the instrument and the eliciting of particular notes and chords, learning more and more complex and complicated musical numbers until playing this instrument becomes second nature. It is now a part of them, an intimate part of their life. Such familiarity takes time and dedication, and the more they work at it, the more they are able to identify specific areas in which they are weak and could continue to improve. Someone who has not mastered the same instrument will look on this person in awe, believing their skill must be perfect, for the outsider can find no fault. But the player who now intimately knows the workings of their craft knows this is not so and so continues striving for perfection.

It is the same with anything which we determine worth our time, work, effort, and dedication. Some will not maintain the focus required to obtain such mastery of one specific skill. They choose instead to learn all they can about multiple topics. They will never be an expert in any one area, but they will gain a general knowledge in multiple things so that their understanding spans a great many aspects of the world around them.

Both approaches can serve us well as we strive to improve ourselves in all things, but it is the first approach of firm dedication and perseverance with which we must set ourselves on the Lord’s path, for it is only those who immerse themselves in His ways that will achieve eternal life, because only the perfect can live in His presence.

Planning and goals will give us purpose and direction, and with this will come confidence, strength and happiness. We can be confident in knowing where we are going. We will find strength in standing our ground and avoiding those things which will lead us astray. And we will find happiness in our accomplishments as we learn and grow and improve.