The Best Time to Plant a Tree . . .

Being the beginning of the year, many people hone-in on their favorite weak-spots and attempt to better themselves little by little until they become who they want to be.  All too often, those goals go unfulfilled, and people find themselves in the same ruts they were in a year, a month, a week earlier.

One of the radio shows I listen to was touching on this topic to which he blatantly claimed the solution to actually reaching your goals was to not wait until the end of the year to make a goal to better and enrich your life.  I agree.  If you really want to make a change, why wait?  If you wait until the end of the year to make all of your goals, it's easy to get burned-out because you're trying to change your whole way of life.  I noticed that trend with some people that I taught as a missionary in Chile.  They were used to a lifestyle where religion didn't play much of a role in their decision-making, and when they tried to change, often they would yield either to their old addiction or bad habit.  If small goals are made to lead up to the larger goal, goal-setting and achieving is much simpler.  I found that the people who were more successful at kicking a bad habit would either quit little by little to lessen the dependency, or they learned the 'why', and quit cold-turkey (weird phrase--'cold-turkey').

Something useful for setting life-changing goals is writing it down.  Goals become measurable markers of success when they are recorded and reported.  Say you grew up wanting to learn to ride a bicycle, but never got to.  

Try doing the little things leading up to it:

Check out books from the library or look-up videos on YouTube about learning to ride. Get a good helmet.  Adjust your bike to fit your height.  Sit on your bike while it's stationary just to get used to the seat and how it feels.  Have someone you trust help you by lending a shoulder.  If you fall down, don't be afraid to get back up.  Put up a picture of Lance Armstrong (as an example--you could use another inspirational bicyclist) on your mirror so as to inspire you to become something great, even if it's only for leisure or practical uses.  Try riding just down the driveway, the length of the front of your house, the length of the block, around the block, turn corners, try a circle, a figure-eight.  Do things you might be afraid to do because it's new.   

Michael Jordan said (quoting another), "The only time I can say I've failed is when I didn't try." 

What if the dose-a-day method doesn't prove too effective for you?  Try outlining the 'why.'  Instead of writing:

Goal #5,280: Learn to ride a bike.

You could write an if-then statement:

If I learn to ride a bike, then I will . . . (insert reasons here.  They could be anything from saving x-amount of dollars in gas every month to getting more in shape.  Either way, you could become more motivated by seeing the benefits that could come from reaching your goal--this could help reach other goals as well.)

You could do a pro-con list: 

Learn to ride a bike

PROs: Be in better shape, healthier heart, no traffic jams, bicycling dates with that special someone, less money spent on gas, etc.

CONs: $150 on a bike, possibilities of falling and scraping your knee, time constraints, etc

It's important, once you start to see visible progress to record it and be accountable to either yourself, or even better, to someone who cares about seeing you progress and get better.

One of my favorite books is Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom.  Morrie is such a caring man and always made it a point to share what he felt with others, especially when he felt it would be beneficial to them.  I absolutely love one of the bits of wisdom he shared:

"So many people walk around with a meaningless life.  They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important.  This is because they're chasing the wrong things.  The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, "The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago.  The second best time is today."  If you have goals--things you can do or become that will bring a sense of purpose and meaning into your life--don't wait until the end of the year, and don't regret not doing it twenty years ago, start today, and become the better you.