New Beginnings

Saying hello to a new year also means saying goodbye to the previous one. There are many wonderful things that happened in 2013. Going to the LDS Storymakers Conference, meeting new friends, learning new things, forgetting more than I'd like, high school graduation, celebrating another wonderful year married to my husband, moving, sending a missionary into the field, being in a music video with Alex Boye, having a story published in A Circle of Sisters, creating, writing, a Christmas full of surprises, growing older. Well a couple of those things weren't the most wonderful but I'm grateful for the things I've learned from them.
In the coming year my quest will be much the same as the last few years. To enjoy the small and simple things. To be more, to do better - in all areas of my life. I think the most helpful tool will be consistency. Doing the things that need to be done when they need to be done. More writing, more loving, more hiking, camping and fishing. Finding a balance with all that I'd like to accomplish. Dusting off some old talents and completing the projects that are overdue.
Here's to the new year 2014! May you consistently work to make your dreams come true. Below are a few of my favorite goal setting and motivational quotes:

Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Willing is not enough; we must do.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

We are still masters of our fate.
We are still captains of our souls.
Winston Churchill

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.
Aristotle

If you don't know where you are going,
you'll end up someplace else.
Yogi Berra

Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; while others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than before. Polybius

"It's in the doing, not just the thinking, that we accomplish our goals." President Thomas S. Monson

"We can become the masters of our own destinies by practicing self-discipline and by setting worthy goals that will lead to higher ground so that we can become what our Heavenly Father wants us to become." Elder M. Russell Ballard, May 2003 New Era

You must avoid blindness of mind by setting goals. ... I have long contended that the person who sets goals and who strives to attain such is the master of his own fate." Elder Carlos E. Asay, May 1985 New Era

"When it came to setting goals, my father had three rules. First, we had to have worthwhile goals. Second, we could change our goals at any time. But third, whatever goal we chose, we had to work diligently toward it." Elder Gene R. Cook, April 2008 Liahona

"Set short-term goals that you can reach. Set goals that are well balanced, not too many nor too few, and not too high nor too low. Write down your attainable goals, and work on them according to their importance. Pray for divine guidance in your goal setting." Elder M. Russell Ballard, May 1987 Ensign

"I believe in goals, but I believe that the individual should set his own. Goal setting should cause us to stretch as we make our way." President Spencer W. Kimball quoted by Elder Marvin J. Ashton, November 1983 Ensign

"May I invite you to rise to the great potential within you. But don’t reach beyond your capacity. Don’t set goals beyond your capacity to achieve. Don’t feel guilty or dwell on thoughts of failure. Don’t compare yourself with others. Do the best you can, and the Lord will provide the rest. Have faith and confidence in Him, and you will see miracles happen in your life and the lives of your loved ones." President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, September 2009 Liahona