If At First You Don't Succeed... Don't Start Over!

I am slightly embarrassed. I abandoned my blog for nearly two weeks, already!!  What would Julie Powell say to me? ..she would say, "Matthew, you are a delightful young person, but... not meeting your goal in the first month? ..a little, well, pathetic. But try again." :)

I am going to try again.  Should I add two weeks on to the end of the goal? ..or should I just respect my time period I have allotted for this goal, and the absence of my diligence will serve as punishment enough, knowing I did not fully achieve my goal. 

The great thing about setting goals, however, is that we do not always achieve what we originally set out to achieve... but it is hardly ever in vain. We learn, we struggle, we stretch what we think we are capable of, and we grow because of it! It is such an incredible process, materializing because we as human beings sometimes decide that we are capable of achieving a little excellence. :)

The great thing about excellence, is that it is not always easy to achieve something of excellence, but we are more often than not satisfied with what we were able to accomplish.

One thing that I do when I have a new focus in my personal life... I rearrange my room.
Today, I rearranged my room, and I am preparing to have a new focus of what my possibilities are. My perspective of what my long term goals may be for the next few years have been changing a great deal in the last few days.. and I am realizing I am much more capable than I realized. Another project I have is to map out a chart that is going to help me more closely know what major or even specific career will suit me well. Hopefully more than perfect! I am going to start with three areas: my interests, my aptitudes, and my personality. This was inspired by the speaker in my Intro to Business class today. The speaker said we should be doing what we love, something that we would want to do, even if we weren't getting paid! I want to play, not have a career. But it's important that I do my homework right now. Wish me luck. :)

My mind is being expanded, and I know it has a great deal to do with my reading and pondering of the Book of Mormon. I am working according to the reading chart that my bishop provided me with. It has a meaningful quote to go with each day of study, and also tells me scriptures to mark. One thing I have been realizing is that I must have a purpose when I read the Book of Mormon, or else I will not be taught nearly as much by the Spirit as I may if I am reading out of habit, or without a specific need or question in mind. My study in the Book of Mormon is helping me to become a different person. My mind is being expanded, my patience lengthened, my tolerance increased, and my understanding enlarged. What a wonderful thing the Gospel of Jesus Christ is.