New Year's Resolution

There are dozens of things that I need to do to improve, but the one that has become the most important for me over the past few months is to improve my relationships.   Christmas is a time when we find out what is most important to us and it was during this past Christmas season that I was inspired to make this a goal of mine.

The first bit of inspiration came to me as I was cleaning out the basement and looking at all the stuff we have acquired over our time here in this house. I started to think how the stuff itself was meaningless and whether we possessed it or not we are the same people inside. So then why do we need all the stuff?  I became so disgusted that I honestly felt like clearing out the entire basement and leaving nothing behind.  I once read somewhere that the more stuff we acquire the more time we spend organizing, cleaning, and basically "dealing" with our stuff.  The more time we spend taking care of our stuff the less time we have to take care of the people in our lives.

Another bit of inspiration came from a church magazine and I cannot remember what article it was, but it talked about how if we don't manage our time wisely we can let the more important things in our lives be at the mercy of the less important things. Basically if we're not careful we will spend most of our time doing the things that are much less important.  Isn't time such a hard thing to manage???? It is for me, but I feel like I'm getting better at using it more wisely. Slow improvements are still improvements, right?

So, less time on stuff, more time on people.  The people I'm talking about are my family. These are the people that can be the hardest to show love to, don't you think?  Here's a quote from an article I read that explains why:

"Your family members will push buttons you didn’t even know you had. They will help you see your selfishness, your insecurities and your fears, and they will do this by ripping you apart, letting you down and offending you on a regular basis.
Welcome to life."


Even though our families do this it is for our own good as the next quote explains,


"Your siblings and parents, and especially your spouse and children, are in your life to teach you to be a better you. They are here to help you discover who you are and to give you chances to step it up and improve yourself."


This article is called "Stop the Fighting in your Family" from KSL.com and you can read the whole article here.  


Improving my relationships with the people I love the most is going to be a great challenge, but it will pay the most rewards and already I'm reaping those rewards. 


Finally, one last bit of inspiration comes from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  

"Assume the good and doubt the bad" 

 Good idea.  It would make a good mantra.  Don't you think?