Above Yourself

Welcome to Above Yourself, a blog about self-improvement and faith. If you're new here, you may want to subscribe in a reader or subscribe by email. Many of the topics here are related to my faith in Jesus Christ and Mormonism, but all are welcome to share their own beliefs. Thanks for visiting!

Today at church we had a discussion about Dallin H. Oaks’ talk from last General Conference, Desire. What drives our actions?

He says “Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions. The desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving, and our becoming.”

So it looks a little something like this:

Desires -> Priorities -> Choices -> Actions

Is there a disconnect in our supposed desires (our goals) and the things we actually end up doing? If so, it’s time to fix that disconnect.

Sometimes when you hear something it just sticks. At the October 2009 LDS General Conference, Elder Bednar gave a talk in which he gave three suggestions for us to be “more diligent and concerned at home”. One of them stuck with me and I’ve kept thinking back on it this week. Here’s the section of the talk that has stuck with me:

In my office is a beautiful painting of a wheat field. The painting is a vast collection of individual brushstrokes—none of which in isolation is very interesting or impressive. In fact, if you stand close to the canvas, all you can see is a mass of seemingly unrelated and unattractive streaks of yellow and gold and brown paint. However, as you gradually move away from the canvas, all of the individual brushstrokes combine together and produce a magnificent landscape of a wheat field. Many ordinary, individual brushstrokes work together to create a captivating and beautiful painting.

Each family prayer, each episode of family scripture study, and each family home evening is a brushstroke on the canvas of our souls. No one event may appear to be very impressive or memorable. But just as the yellow and gold and brown strokes of paint complement each other and produce an impressive masterpiece, so our consistency in doing seemingly small things can lead to significant spiritual results. “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (D&C 64:33). Consistency is a key principle as we lay the foundation of a great work in our individual lives and as we become more diligent and concerned in our own homes.

“More Diligent and Concerned at Home“, Elder David A. Bednar, October 2009 General Conference

So many things we do in our lives are like brushstrokes on our souls. As we go about our day there are hundreds of opportunities for brushstrokes. Do we pick up the brush or are we making ourselves too busy for even one brushstroke?

I’m back! And you’ll notice I’m using “fuzzy math” for my dates since Week 3 was over two months ago. I gave myself a vacation from checking my weight because the Holidays were crazy busy and January and February have been nuts, too. We were all sick for a while, and we found out we’re expecting twins! Now I have even more incentive to keep going with this.

Today’s weigh in is on a Monday. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad, it’s only because today is Monday.

You can see there’s been a big jump in my chart, but I’m not going to focus on that. My trend line is currently headed down, so that’s what I care about right now!

Last Week’s Weight: 257.2 lbs
Current Weight: 253.6 lbs
Difference: 3.6 lbs
Weeks to go: 28
Pounds to go: 23.6