Goals 2: Summary

This picture basically summarizes my last post. It's a picture posted on Shannon Hale's blog that represents her life right now (visit http://oinks.squeetus.com/). It's pretty much my goal someday (well, again, minus the second baby. Just one will do when the time comes =)). Writer + Mother mixed. Perfect.

(They're pretty cute, huh?)

Goals

"Keep your eyes on your dreams, however distant and far away."
-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Last spring, I wrote about my three biggest goals in life:

1. Become a published writer
2. Get married
3. Become a mom

Well, I'm quickly realizing that I don't have a lot of control over goal #2 and #3 (I do the best I can, and then I have to trust in the Lord's timing for the rest), but I do have control over the first goal; at least, to some extent. I can try harder to write a little everyday and work towards getting published.

I never realized how important goals really were until a few weeks ago. Everyone needs something to look forward to and work towards. Without dreams and goals, life can become pretty meaningless. You find yourself going through the motions without much of anything else. It's lonely and sad and, frankly, hard to deal with. Goals point towards the future and gives you something to have hope and faith in. One of my favorite quotes by Elder Holland is, "Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the 'high priest of good things to come.'"

I need stronger faith. I need goals.

One of my favorite authors, Shannon Hale, had twins a few weeks ago. I've always admired her balance of writing and motherhood. I'm sure writing helps her cope with the strains of motherhood, as well as appreciate it even more. I honestly want to have a life like hers (well, minus the twins...), but it's not going to happen over night. Instead, I need to start TODAY working towards those goals: first, writer (since I can control that); second, marriage (I can always be working on this goal through how I see myself and who I become, as well as who I socialize with); third, motherhood (umm...see #2).

So, with that said, I'm posting my goal on my blog so I'll be more accountable for it:

I've been told that November is "write a novel" month. Well, I already have a novel--I just need to finish editing it. Here's my goal:

I will write/revise my novel at least a few minutes EVERY day the month of November.

I thought about making it a goal to finish revising my novel by the end of next month, but another important part of having goals is having practical goals--goals you can accomplish. Honestly, with over 400 pages left to revise, I doubt I could finish my novel by December, but I can at least work towards finishing it everyday.

That is my goal. That is my promise.

And I'm counting on you (whoever you may be) to hold me to it!

Our True Identity

“Trials are mandatory; Happiness is optional.”

We’ve all heard people say, “I’m the happiest person in the world!” Perhaps we’ve even said or thought it ourselves. But what made them happy? What made us happy? Wasn’t it because everything in our lives was going perfectly—everything we ever wanted was happening to us? Heavenly Father was blessing us. Our "love buckets" were full. Life was good.

Well, I’d like to propose that the happiest people really are those who can find joy in life despite being in the middle of a trial or hardship. People who—if everything was taken away from them right now—would still be able to smile. People who look for the positive despite the bad things happening to them. People like Job or Joseph Smith or those select few angels on earth that have been in your life just long enough to leave an impression on you.

No one’s perfect. Even the happiest people still cry and have moments of hopelessness. But getting on their knees means something to them, and they’re still thanking Heavenly Father for the blessing in their lives whether it’s perfect or the worst it has ever been.

I guess this has all been on my mind a lot lately. I wish I could say I was the person who found happiness no matter the circumstance, but I’d be putting up a façade. Honestly, when things are going well, I find it easy to be grateful. But when things aren’t going so great…well, I wish I could be more consistent with my feelings. I know I have so much to be grateful for, and yet the minute something goes wrong, I seem to lose sense of what truly matters. Of what I do have.

I know this is where the Atonement comes in, and the amazing power of forgiveness. I know this is why God knows all things and I don’t. I know this is why faith and hope and trust are so important. This is when I remind myself that without the truth of the gospel, I wouldn’t even have a sense of what true happiness is—and can always be.

This life is a test, but Heavenly Father isn’t going to give us more than we can handle. He wants us to be happy. But He also wants us to be like Him. And how else can He help smooth out our rough edges if we don’t go through the furnace now and again? I guess what I’m trying to say—more to myself than to anyone else—is that we’re going to have trials; it’s part of the Plan. But it doesn’t mean we can’t find reasons to be happy. If we’re only the “happiest people on the earth” when life is going grand, we’re going to be pretty miserable most of the time. At least, this is what I’m learning pretty quickly. Those perfect moments are few and rare and beautiful when they occur, but they can’t last forever. Heavenly Father loves us too much to let us coast for too long—even on the good things in life.

I hope we know what true happiness is and seek it--or seek Him, as should be said. I hope we recognize what we have and find reasons to always be grateful, whether it's hard to be or not. I want so much to be like Job or Joseph Smith or those people I admire so much, who despite adversity in their lives, trusted in the Lord and made the most of what they had. I may be struggling right now with things, but it doesn't mean I can't be happy. I don't believe happiness is an oil-in-water type thing, where bad things happening and joy can't blend. Instead, we can turn all rainy days into puddle-splashing fiestas.

If so, I'm looking forward to many rainy days ahead.

The Hunger Games

You HAVE to read this book!!!

I'm not even kidding.

Last Friday I basically sat in my bedroom for 4 hours and read it straight through. I literally couldn't put it down! I loved the characters, the plot, the concept--pretty much everything about it. I think Suzanne Collins is a brilliant, brilliant writer. Every chapter ended in such a way that you just had to keep reading.

Of course, I don't want to give anything away, but I'd describe the book as 1984 meets Hatchet (but a million-times better than both books, in my opinion--they have similar concepts, but WAY different stories). It's all about survival for the main character, Katniss, who volunteers to be a part of "the hunger games"--a sacrificial, fight-to-the death event that happens once-a-year in her "Big Brother is watching you"-type country. The story definitely keeps you on your toes, and the ending makes you long for more. In fact, I'm going to buy the second book, Catching Fire, after work tomorrow because I don't think I can stand another day without knowing what happens!

Soooo...READ IT READ IT READ IT!!! But when you do, make sure you set aside a block of time because once you start, you won't be able to stop!