New Year's Resolutions

So, I've decided to keep a record of my New Year's resolutions.  Every year I make them, and I'm not sure that I've ever gone through with any of them.  The fact that I can't remember any of them probably means I never did.  So, here's a chance for me to do it for real, and I'm going to take you all along for the journey; keep me accountable.


So, I made my goals simple and small, but that are going to have a big impact on my lifestyle.
1) Start wearing a mo hawk.
2) Start watching The Office so I know what in the heck people are talking about
Wait, scratch those.
Let's start again.


1) Get up by 6:30 every day
2) Go to bed by 10:30 every day
      You know, I'm not sure how these first two goals are going to work on Friday nights and Saturday mornings? Any suggestions of what to do there?
3) Make my bed everyday
4) Keep my room clean weekly
5) Serve someone daily
6) Blog about these goals every week << This is the most critical of them all


I feel like a missionary or a high schooler.  Shouldn't I have figured out how to do these things by now?
All of these relate to a couple attributes that I feel are lacking in my life that are going to help me come to know the Savior better.  I feel like I need more discipline and self-denial.  To me it seems like it has been to easy to just go with the flow of life and not really check myself.  If I'm tired, I should just sleep in.  If I want to stay up, then by golly, I'm going to spend some time with 2am and 3am this morning--stuff like that.  I don't want to clean my room or make my bed for that matter, so I'll just study somewhere else.  Oh, and it's all about me today, I'm tired of thinking about everyone else.  How about that attitude!?  Well, I guess I thought that was the right attitude, and I've painfully realized that it hasn't really helped.  In fact, it's contributed to some very unproductive days, a bit of unhappiness, and a drastic halt in progression at times = not good.  


This realization that I just described above is something beautiful.  It is the illustration of truth and an immensely important reason why I need the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.  All of us have desires in our hearts.  I think deep down we want to be happy in life.  All of us have personal ways of obtaining that deep desire to be happy.  We've got our own methods.  We, human beings taught by other human beings taught by other human beings, etc., try to come up with eternal principles of happiness on our own sometimes.  I thought that if I just gave in to what my body wanted, that it would make me happy.  Maybe for a little bit, but over time I started to realize that I was getting less done and ultimately feeling less and less fulfilled = not good.
Truth discovery 1: " retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated." -D&C 88:124
No matter how much I wanted to sleep in, I could never achieve the promise of body and mind being invigorated without the fulfillment of the condition: retire early; arise early.


This truth came about through a revelation given through Joseph Smith the prophet.  I'm sure there have been studies done to prove this, but the truth was revealed first.  This truth along with countless others have blessed my life with peace, happiness, and joy - all of the deepest desires of my heart.

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So, join me on this journey as I discover that these truths of discipline, order, and service are indeed eternal methods of happiness.  I think deep down I know they are true, it's just believing that doing them more often than not doing them will make me happier.  This will take some faith.  


Thank God for a New Year.  Thank God for repentance and the chance to start anew; Thank God for the atonement and sacrifice of his son Jesus Christ who makes New Year's resolutions actually possible.  Yes, only because of Him are these resolutions of mine possible.  I love him.