Goals.

Dang.
Deciding what to write each day is going to be A LOT harder than I anticipated. And its not that I have nothing to say, its that I have SO much to say! There are so many helpful things that I want to share with all of you but I don't know where to start. But one thing I do know is that I want to keep these posts short, sweet, and to the point. But feel free to leave comments, ask questions, or request me to elaborate on something you want to know more about, because as much as this is supposed to be therapeutic and helpful for me to do, I really want it to be as helpful as possible for whoever might be reading this.

So today....I think I want to talk about.... Goals. Yep. that's the one.

The topic of goals may seem monotonous to some of you. Its something we learn about as children. Our teachers have us set goals for the school year, our parents encourage us to set goals about our future careers, our coaches help our teams to reach goals we have set for our season, and our church leaders remind us to set goals that will help us to live with God again. My point is, goals are nothing new to us. So why would I want to talk about them? I think this is because I personally had a new experience with goals when I started treatment.

I have always had goals in life.

Here's a small list:
1. Find a career that I am passionate about
2. Get married in the Temple
3. Have as many children as I can handle
4. Go to Africa! (I would love to do humanitarian stuff but...I also just really want to ride an elephant!)
5. Learn to play the piano
....and the list goes on. 

I'm sure you all have a list like that for yourselves. And if you dont, you should make one! It really is important.

BUT!

I found something that I think might be a little more important than those types of goals (okay, maybe EQUALLY as important). 

On my first morning in treatment, we all sat down before the day started to set goals. I soon learned that this would be something we would do EVERY morning. at first, I thought to myself,

"uh...my only goal right now is to recover and get the heck outta here"

But then I realized that we weren't setting the long term goals that I was used to. No, these were short term goals. And when I say short term, I mean really short term. These goals had to be attainable within a 24 hour period. We were also encouraged to share these goals to the group so that they could check in with you the next morning to see if you completed your goal. If you completed it, you usually got a round of applause, and if you didn't, you were given motivation to simply try again. 

I have to say, I grew very fond of this daily goal setting and it is a routine I would like to keep for the rest of my life. Of course we all have these huge life goals that we are going after, but its the little goals that will get you there. So I guess that's what I want to challenge all of you guys to do. Set just one daily goal. And here are some guidelines that I found very helpful:

**don't just think about your goal, write it down! Really solidify it for yourself.
    "Goals that are not written down are just wishes"-- Fitzhugh Dodson

 **Really take some time to think about your goal. Make one that you know will be helpful for you that day and make it SPECIFIC. The specificity was always key for me. Rather than saying be productive, think of something you can actually do to be productive. Your goals can also be something to NOT do. Like DON'T text and drive (yes, I am ashamed to admit that this actually had to be one of my goals. But hey, I've been doing really good with it!).  

**Sometimes your goal for the day may seem really simple but yet really needed to be put at the forefront of your mind in order for you to actually do it, like... Go to bed by 10:30.

 **Find an accountability buddy. Someone that you will share this goal with and who can follow up with you to see how you did, and you can do the same for them. 

This concept of daily goal setting may seem frivolous but it has made a HUGE difference in my life and I think it can for you too. And hey, maybe you figured all of this out long before I did, and if that's the case, keep it up! 

.its all about the baby steps.