The Ship and the Goal

I am sitting on a beach looking out across the ocean.  The sun is glistening across the sky as it so softly kisses the edge of the ocean.  I look out and see a ship in the far off distance. Wondering if this is the ship that will come to bring me money, weight loss, peace, happiness, or everything my heart desires.  Is this the ship that will be mine and only mine. Is this the ship that will bring me the joy my heart so deeply longs for.  This is the picture I would see in my mind every time my father would say “When my ship comes in”. 

When my ship comes in- refers to a scenario that my father used to share with me.  When I was growing up and we would want something or do something my father would always say “we will do that or get that when my ship comes in”. My parents were never rich with money.  We always had what we needed to get by, we always had whatever we needed.  Not necessarily what we wanted but we never went without the things we needed.

First thing one morning I got an email that said " A ship is safe in the harbor, but that's not what ships are for." by John A. Shedd Just like a ship we can sit around doing exactly what we've always done. We can be safe in the harbor, but if we do we just might deteriorate, (rust), sit dormant, be non existent, or board. We are not meant to just exist doing the same thing over and over. Like a ship we function better moving around. We need to explore new ideas. Step out of our comfort zone and become what God wants us to be. That same night I saw a picture of a boat with a loan person on that small boat. Even though that was not the ship I envisioned in hopes of seeing , that picture spoke words to me. That small boat represented exactly what I needed to see. The small boat helped me realize that my goals will come one small step at a time. Each ship has a couple of small boats that need to be used every now and then to keep them functioning. Just like in life, we need the small goals to help us reach our great big ship (goal). My father had the right idea, he wanted a ship to come in, but he didn't know what that ship was. He worked hard and he did right by his family, taking care of us the best he knew how. He just never envisioned his ultimate goal where money was concerned. He finally realized his family was his ultimate ship and he had exactly. what he always wanted in all of his children.

    How often do you think of your goal? How important is your goal to you? Do you know what you really want? This has been one of my biggest problems. What do I really want? The main thing I really want is to be healthy. I want to be able to do things without hurting so much. I do great in the morning, thinking about my goal and wanting to accomplish it. Then by evening I forget what my goal is. You see I wake up at 4 am every morning. Years ago when my children were little, I decided that 4 am was the best time for me to work out and have some down time before the children woke up. Now that I have a job, this is still the best time for me to work out because in the evening, I am so tired that I do not want to work out. In the morning, I also read and get some spiritual time to motivate myself for the day. This is how I make my day go so much better. We need some down time, we need some time for ourselves. Every mom needs that time, to keep herself sane and fresh to be the best mom and wife she can be.

Elder M. Russell Ballard said,

“I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn how to master the technique of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential.”

M. Russell Ballard, “Do Things That Make a Difference,” Ensign, June 1983, 69–70

We need goals, we need to do something to improve ourselves.

"Goals are most effective when they excite, challenge, and motivate us. As you create or improve your goals, be specific in what you want to achieve, create some way of measuring your progress, and give yourself a timeline to achieve it." (Lesson 4: Realizing My Goal. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/my-plan-for-returned-missionaries/4-realizing-my-goals?lang=eng)

Set a date you want to achieve this goal, write it down, share it with others, and keep working at it everyday. Ingrain it into your life. If you are excited about it, the goal will finally be something you know you can achieve. There will be days that you feel like "there is no way I can achieve this goal'. There will be days you feel like " YES! I GOT THIS".

One thing that has been very hard for me to do is change my thinking on the days I felt like there is no way I can achieve this. Reaching 140 lbs seems so difficult to me. Some things that I have been telling myself is that I don't deserve to be 140 lbs. I don't want to eat like someone that is 140 lbs. I have so many thoughts about skinny people, all those thoughts are keeping me from my goal. I'm going to change my thinking. I'm going to respect food for what it is. I'm going to respect opposition for what it is. Opposition is strong, but I am stronger.

Anyone that knows me knows that there was a time in my life that I loved chocolate. Anyone that knows me now, knows that I do not eat chocolate, in fact I do not even like it. When I was pregnant with my youngest child, I ate some chocolate and got really sick. That sent me into never eating chocolate again. It was easy to change my core belief about chocolate because my mind tied eating chocolate to being sick. Therefore Chocolate is now something I don't like. I've even tried eating some in recent years and it does not taste good to me at all. So this is how I am going to change my core belief about other things that do not serve me in any way. When I see something that I know does not work well with my body, I am going to tell myself that I don't eat that any more. Or I don't need that any more. I tried that yesterday in the store. One of my favorite treats now is white chocolate peanut M & Ms. I went to pick some up and thought I might want them later, then I remembered my goal, and thought, "Oh, I don't eat those any more". So, I put them back. I honestly felt ok about that decision. I actually felt good about that decision. I'm still learning how to have that role in my life of "I don't eat that any more". And there will be some moments I chose not to listen to that voice, but I'm going to do it one day at a time and even one moment at a time. I'm going to do the best I can and realize that I'm getting stronger each moment I listen to the voice that says "I don't eat that any more". I've told myself some negative things for over 40 years, it will take time to change those thoughts. I can' expect my ship (or goal) to reach me in a short time when I've traveled so far from that goal. One thing I've learned is be patient with yourself. Write your goal down and think on your goal often. Leslie Householder compares your goal to being engaged. How often did you think about the person you are engaged too? If I remember right I thought of my soon to be husband all the time. So that is what I need to do with my goal, think about it all the time and be excited about it.

All right my friends have a great week and until next time Keep on reaching for those dreams, One day I know your ship will come in and you will reach your full potential. Have a great week!