A friend of mine introduced me to a new concept recently. Instead of making a long list of New Year's resolutions that will be overwhelming and forgotten in a few weeks, she chooses a single word to focus on for the entire year. I've given this idea some thought and I have decided that this year I will not make a list of resolutions. Instead, I will be joining my friend and picking a word to focus on throughout the year.
My word for the year is: Better.
It's my goal this year to be better than I was last year, in every respect. I want to be better at saying my prayers and doing my scripture study. I want to be better at keeping my house clean. I want to be a better wife and mommy. I want to eat better and take better care of my body. I want to make better use of my time. I want to make better choices. You get the idea.
Today at church I heard a quotation that impressed me so much that I tracked it down to it's original source. It seemed so incredibly appropriate to my state of mind that I thought I'd share it with you.
“A wise man once distinguished between ‘the noble art of getting things done’ and ‘a nobler art of leaving things undone.’ True ‘wisdom in life,’ he taught, consists of ‘the elimination of non-essentials.’ What are the nonessential things that clutter your days and steal your time? What are the habits you may have developed that do not serve a useful purpose? What are the unfinished or unstarted things that could add vigor, meaning, and joy to your life?”
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “As You Embark upon This New Era,” in Brigham Young University 2008–2009 Speeches (2009), 2; see also Lin Yutang, The Importance of Living (1937), 162, 10.
I think that one of the best things I could do to make my life better this year is to choose to leave more things undone.
I hope and pray that I and each of you will have a fantastic new year...full of undone things. :D
4 comments:
Interestingly enough, this year I haven't really made any resolutions. Usually I'm totally on top of it but his year....nothing really specific came to me. Other than one word. Balance. I kept telling myself that I'd get around to making resolutions later but maybe I should do like you and just take that one word and have it be my resolution and focus for the year. Thanks for the post.
Ugh....I so need to be more careful about checking to see if it is me or my daughter who is logged in when I leave comments! Sorry! Obviously it is me, not Rebekah who left that last comment!
What a great post! I couldn't agree more! Your family picture below is so cute! Happy New Year!
I love the quote! I'm going to read the whole talk later today. Thank you!
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