Practicing more faith is top priority for 2010
The coming of a new year usually brings with it a sense of renewed optimism.
Regardless of how tough this past year has been for millions of us, there is something about starting over that most of us embrace with hope. Making goals for the New Year is a long-held tradition, but the lists of goals can seem endless: financial, marriage, family, career, health, exercise, spiritual and so on. Sometimes just coming up with all these goals can seem overwhelming in and of itself.
In pondering about what I’d like to accomplish the most in the coming year, I had an interesting thought come to me in the form of a question: Which one attribute of the Savior would I like to emulate the most, that would have the greatest positive impact in my life?
Although the question posed was interesting, the most surprising aspect of it was how quickly the answer came. It took only a couple of seconds before I had a very clear picture of what I needed to concentrate on. It’s almost like there was a part of me deep down inside just waiting to be asked that very question.
If I can practice more faith on a daily basis, 2010 will have a lot more hope and inner peace — making faith my number one priority will definitely have the greatest impact in my life. I don’t know if I have ever had an entire year where I chose faith over fear on a daily basis, regardless of the circumstances around me.
Out of excitement and some curiosity, I started asking my family and friends (even families my son and I home taught this month) the same question. What has been astonishing is how quickly everyone came up with a unique answer.
Equally impressive was that so far no one chose the same attribute to work on. Realizing there’s such a plethora of attributes to choose from, here’s a sample of their answers: Be more loving, less judgmental, more patient, more forgiving, having the courage to stand up for what’s right, less critical and being more thoughtful of others’ feelings.
Some of their answers were surprising because from the outside, you’d never guess this was an area someone would be struggling with. I have appreciated their honest and “from the heart responses.” As time has gone by I’ve realized the truthfulness of their answers.
So if you had to ask yourself that same question, what would your answer be? Which one of the Lord’s attributes would you like to emulate? By choosing to work on just one such attribute, we each have the potential to become a little more like him.
Ultimately, isn’t that one of our “big picture” goals: to become more Christ-like? And even better, by knowing each others’ goals we can also be held more accountable by those around us whom we trust. I would love to hear your answers.
May you have a happy, healthy and spirit-filled New Year.
Dr. Elia Gourgouris is a nationally known speaker, relationship coach, and the president of LDSCoaching.com. With over 20 years of experience, he has inspired thousands of individuals and couples to find greater happiness and fulfillment, both in their careers and their personal lives. He holds a degree from UCLA and a Ph.D. in psychology. Dr. Gourgouris speaks to groups around the country regarding women’s issues, self esteem, communications skills, and relationships. He is also a favorite presenter at both BYU and BYU-ID Education Weeks, and Time Out for Women conferences. He is the author of “DTR: What You Need to Know Before You Get Married” and he has an upcoming CD entitled “The Multi-Platinum Marriage: Going from Just Surviving to Thriving!” He and his wife, Sona, live near Boulder, Colorado, with their children.
