Saturday, January 7, 2012

*A New Year* guest post by Cherie

Anyone who knows anything about Cherie is quite sure to say the same thing--the girl is experienced and genuine.  I really think she can do just about anything - plus, she's just funny!  I love her "real" take on the New Year and I know you will too!


The Joy of New Year's Resolutions


"Every day is a new beginning. Treat it that way. Stay away from what might have been, and look at what can be." Author unknown



Your life is as positive as you make it.

Ask your self this question: Are you a person who pats yourself on the back for those things that you accomplish, or do you constantly kick yourself for what you fail to do? If you said, "yes" to the latter it is time to re-adjust your thinking. You are being too hard on yourself.

In the grand scheme of things life is one big goal, broken down into a series of smaller goals, and after that even smaller goals, etc...related to this, is the fact that everything in life has a repetitive nature. To learn, we must do things over and over and over and over. It is rare or even unheard of to master something on the first try, or even the tenth. So why do we beat ourselves up when it comes to New Year's resolutions?

Every year I make goals. I love the beginning of a new year. I list and plan and write everything down that I want to accomplish. Will I accomplish it all this year? Probably not. Will I accomplish some of it this year? Maybe. Will I look at each thing I write down and try to do a little better at each one? YES!

When you look at someone who is really good at something - a sport, an instrument, a fantastic figure, a writer, a whiz at food storage, a scriptorian. They were not born with that skill. It didn't happen in a year - It took years and years of work and goals to get to where they are.

This is the whole point. I may not accomplish my goals this year, but I will try. Every year I will keep on trying and I will get a little better at each thing, and each year I will do the same thing, with my goals, until finally, I will check off this goal or that one and I will be good at it because I have practiced it for so long. To me that is a victory!

So quit being hard on yourself, don't be afraid to set goals and work toward them. Because whether you achieve them this year, or ten years from now, you are awesome simply for working on something that will make you a better person. It is never, ever too late to try something new.

"I urge you to examine your life. Determine where you are and what you need to do to be the kind of person you want to be. Create inspiring, noble, and righteous goals that fire your imagination and create excitement in your heart. And then keep your eye on them. Work consistently towards achieving them."

--Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Life's Lessons Learned", May 2007 Ensign


18 comments:

Kerri said...

Love this Cherie! You're right...sometimes people are good at things because they work hard at it. Just last week my son said, "how come everyone in here is a better bowler than me?" I said, "they probably bowl more than twice a year!"
So many good quotes in your post!

Welcome to the Garden of Egan said...

I came over because Cherie said to....and I'm afraid of her so I always do what she says.
OK just kidding about being afraid.
I absolutely love her and have been able to even hang out with her!

I loved the post, but I also loved the other posts you have done.
I ended up spending quite a bit of time reading your blog. Thank you.
It was so enjoyable!

tammy said...

Great post Cherie!

Jocelyn Christensen said...

Well-said! Need to work on less kicking! :)

Christina said...

Great post! I totally agree- it's ok to be a work in progress and goals don't need to be accomplished over night. I love the quote at the end, too!

Susan Anderson said...

Wonderful counsel, and I agree wholeheartedly. In fact, I could have written it myself (despite my Saturday Centus post last week, which was poetic license and not conviction).

I love setting goals, and I am very gentle with myself when they fall a bit short. Progress, after all, is still made! And it's just so much fun to dream 'em up!!

=)

Heffalump said...

Great post Cherie! It's important for us to remember that it takes work, even for people that have a natural talent for something.

wendy said...

Was fun to come over and visit here. I LOVE Cherie.
She is a wise, loving, funny, overall cool lady.

Debby@Just Breathe said...

Great post Cherie. You are so full of enthusiasm, it's awesome!

Jenny Lynn said...

Very inspiring Cherie!

Momza said...

Cherie always knows how to say things just right. Super post!

Mikki said...

Great post Cherie!!! You're absolutely right. Now, I'm not going to feel so dumb for setting the same goals every year.

R said...

You go girlfriend!!!

Yvonne said...

You are so right, Cherie. We need to stop beating ourselves up. It is funny because my goals as I start the new year are usually pretty much the same--it is just a continual challenge of trying to do better. I won't give up--I'll just keep trying and one day, just maybe one day, I'll be there ; )

Grumpy Grateful Mom said...

Thank you for this! I kick myself a lot. And I usually take on too many goals at once, then accomplish nothing! Working to change this and truly put my focus in the direction I want to go.

Saimi said...

Wonderful as always, it's why I follow you girlfriend!

Susan R said...

I love this and the idea behind it. I find it easier to say I'm going to work on something and make a list of things I want to work on rather than say, "This is a resolution". If I fall short even though I worked on it, I don't feel like an utter failure.
By the way...I love this blog. I read a few posts, watched a few videos and looked at some very cute photos. I'll be adding this blog to my line up.

Emmy said...

Oh I like this way of thinking about it! Makes "resolutions" seem like a good doable thing

Blog Widget by LinkWithin