“Each of us can do a little better than we have been doing. We can be a little more kind. We can be a little more merciful. We can be a little more forgiving. We can put behind us our weaknesses of the past, and go forth with new energy and increased resolution to improve the world about us, in our homes, in our places of employment, in our social activities.”
-Gordon B. Hinkley
This quote from Gordon B. Hinkley teaches us that we can all do a little better in our lives. We all struggle sometimes, and we can always do better. By setting goals we can improve ourselves, and grow.
While I was working as a business consultant in the Dominican Republic one of the most important lessons we taught our clients was goal setting. We taught our clients to use SMART goals (EL MAR in Spanish). While the lesson focused on business, this goal-setting method worked very well in our personal lives.
I remember one of our clients very clearly. She was an older lady who made soaps. We knew we had to teach her in a way that she would understand so my companion decided to use the example of getting a girlfriend. Watching him walk through each step of the SMART goal process was very funny.
To make it even funnier this poor lady did not understand what he was talking about. The example was entertaining, but I knew we had to develop something else. I pulled him aside and told him to specifically relate it to her business.
This change made it a lot easier for the client to understand. That’s like writing and editing. We tend to write better when we write about something we know, but it is important that we consider it from other perspectives. To make sure that our audience understands.
Then, as we edit our writing we improve it little by little. Just like President Hinkley said it is important to edit our lives as we would edit an article.