UAC

Will Rogers once said, “Even if you’re on the right track,
you’ll get run over if you just stand there.”

Avoid being RUN OVER! Set goals and learn life skills to succeed.

We’ve compiled a few resources that can help you in goal making and learning beneficial capacities for every day decisions.
Our bi-weekly workshops will also be covering, in more depth, the outlines listed below.

Goals

Life Skills

“Goals are dreams with deadlines.”- Diana Hunt

Why Do We Make Goals?

1. Goal setting is making a plan to reach an accomplishment, or a plan for self-improvement, or a plan that will result in growth to full potential.

2. A goal gives a person or group a clear understanding of what needs to be accomplished and helps those involved to choose wisely the actions which will best accomplish it.

3. Goal setting includes the process of being held accountable for the goals which were set.

4. When it comes to your personal life and your business, goal setting makes the difference between mediocrity and excellence and accomplishment.

5. Whenever you see anything worthwhile being done anywhere, it is because someone is behind it with a passion, a belief and a goal.

5 Elements of a Useful Goal

This is a great site with some wonderful insight to goal setting.
http://www.mygoals.com/

Ten Useful Steps

An example of setting a goal using the REACH program

There are so many skills needed to succeed in life today. Below is a list of some life skills we feel are important.

Initiative

Definition: To do something because it needs to be done

“Nothing is impossible to those who keep God’s commandments. But help only comes as we move forward. How do we respond when we are confronted with a task that seems to be impossible?
“ All of us face obstacles. All of us have challenges. We all walk paths that lead us toward heights we think we cannot ascend. Sooner or later we all stand at the foot of cliffs we cannot scale” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Reach Out and Climb!” New Era, Apr. 2002, 42).

Organization

Definition: To plan, arrange, and implement in an orderly way to keep things orderly and ready to use.

“Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God” (D&C 88:119).

“She organized in her mind the duties to be preformed that day and asked her Heavenly Father for his help in accomplishing them. Each day ended with a grateful report as she expressed her appreciation and love to her Father in Heaven for his help and the help of kind friends” (Marian R. Boyer, “Organize Yourselves,” Ensign, Nov. 1980, 108).

Financial Management

Why are budgets important?

- A budget is a guide that tells you if you are heading in the direction you want to be financially.

- If you budget, YOU will know where your money is going at all times, preventing you from being scammed or falling into financial traps.

- Following a realistic plan frees up extra cash so you can spend wisely on the things that are essential.

Follow this link for an excellent budgeting advice site:
www.betterbudgeting.com

Sense of Humor

Definition: To laugh and be playful without harming others

“So what is a good sense of humor? A good sense of humor doesn’t put someone down; it lifts them up. A good sense of humor helps to ease painful or difficult situations, puts others at ease, and is usually welcome anytime.

“Another kind of humor uses self-deprecation. The storyteller laughs at himself and helps us laugh with him as he narrates some of the funny situations he’s experienced. When we hear these stories and laugh, we’re not laughing at the person; we’re laughing with him. It’s like the famous humorist Will Rogers said, ‘Everything is funny as long as it is happening to someone else.’ It’s easy to laugh at others, but it’s much healthier to laugh with them or at ourselves.

“As you work to develop your own sense of humor, be careful not to fall into some typical negative patterns. Good humor focuses on situations or experiences, and finds the irony or incongruity in them. It doesn’t rely on canned jokes or stories.

“But, after all, a good sense of humor is a useful quality to have. It will often help you to keep your sanity when life gets too serious or too difficult. If you remember to be honest, considerate, and kind in what you say to or about others, you’ll be on your way to developing a ‘good’ sense of humor” (Chris Crowe, “A good Sense of Humor,” New Era, May 1986, 34).

Common Sense

Definition: To use good judgment

“Now, my brethren and sisters, if the Church has anything to say to you it will come from them direct and not from the writings of other men. It will come to you in a manner that you will understand it. It will not be speculative. It will come to you philosophically, truthfully, and governed by common sense” (Harold B. Lee, “Follow the Leadership of the Church,” Ensign, July 1973, 95).

Problem-Solving

Definition: To create solutions in difficult situations and everyday problems

No problem is so big or so small
that the Savior cannot help us solve it.

“We each have burdens to bear. No matter who we are, what we do, or where we go, each one of us will have difficulties. Problems are part of mortality. But when solved with wisdom and in accordance with gospel principles, those very problems can be gateways to eternity. As we walk the path of righteousness and turn to the Lord, we will come to know the power of God that is within each one of us” (Mary Ellen W. Smoot, “Seeking Solutions,” Ensign, Feb 2002, 42).

Consider Where You Are Headed

When faced with a problem, search your soul to see if your present thoughts and actions are leading to a solution, feeding the problem, or possibly even creating more problems for you. Seek for perspective greater than your own, and take an outsider’s look at the situation. Proverbs 1:7 “Fools despise wisdom and instruction”

Ask, “What Am I Going to Do about It?”

When faced with a problem. Humbly ask the question “What am I going to do about it?”

Know the Value of Church Organizations

The Organizations of the Church can help strengthen us in our problem solving

Be an Influence for Good

Extend a loving hand of service in school or church, with friends and family. The spirit of service of which I speak as a means of overcoming our own problems has been ignited in the Relief Society organization. Relief Societies all over the world have reached out to their communities and are serving in the name of the Relief Society organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We have Inherited Powerful Resources

“When you say, ‘I can’t? I can’t solve my problems!’ I want to thunder out, ‘Don’t you realize who you are? Haven’t you learned yet that you are a son or a daughter of Almighty God? Do you not know that there are powerful resources inherited from Him that you can call upon to give you steadiness and courage and great power?’” (President Boyd K. Packer, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “Self-Reliance,” Ensign, Aug 1975,88).

Time Management

Getting the job done is important, but “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Managing time helps you to accomplish goals and make time for relaxation and leisure.

http://www.studygs.net/timman.htm

Patience

Definition: To wait calmly for someone or something; to bear pain or sorrow calmly or without complaint; not being hasty or impetuous; being steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity.

“In a passage from the Book of Mormon, Alma (32:37.42-43) helps us understand patience. After telling about planting a seed that can grow to become a tree, he adds these insightful words: “And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow,…if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit. … Ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and you diligence and your patience” (Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Patience, a Key to Happiness,” Ensign, May 1987, 30).

Remember: The Scriptures teach patience; Christ is our perfect example of patience and we need still need it today.

Friendship

Definition: To make and keep a friend through mutual trust and caring

“The prophet Joseph Smith taught that “friendship is one of the grand fundamental principles of ‘Mormonism.’ That thought out to inspire and motivate all of us because I feel that friendship is a fundamental need of our world.” (Marlin K. Jensen, “Friendship: A Gospel Principle,” Ensign, May 1999, 64).

“Someone has said, ‘A friend is a person who is willing to take me the way I am.’ Accepting this as one definition of the word, may quickly suggest that we are something less than a real friend if we leave a person the same way we find him.

“Acts of a friend should result in self-improvement, better attitudes, self-reliance, comfort, consolation, self-respect, and better welfare. Certainly the word friend is misused if it is identified with a person who contributes to our delinquency, misery, and heartaches.

“It takes courage to be a real friend. Some of us endanger the valued classification of a friend because of our unwillingness to be one under all circumstances. Fear can deprive us of friendship. Some of us identify our closest friends as those with the courage to remain and share themselves with us under all circumstances. A friend is a person who will suggest and render the best for us regardless of the immediate consequences” (Marvin J. Ashton, “What is a Friend?” Ensign, Jan 1973, 41).

Curiosity

Definition: A desire to investigate and seek understanding of one’s world

Cooperation

Definition: To work together toward a common goal or purpose

“ ‘The Master associated love for God with love for fellowman; and surely love comprises duty, and duty means effort and action’ (Matt. 22:35-40). A very large part of the course of education provided in the school of mortality is attained through association with our kind and the righteous observance of duty on community life. We are not here to be recluses nor to hold ourselves aloof from public service, but to live in a state of mutual helpfulness and effective cooperation” (Elder James E. Talmage, “Articles of Faith,” 12th ed. 1924, 525).

Courage

Definition: To act according to one’s beliefs

Mark Twain once said: “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of it” (The Harper Book of American Quotations, 1988, 111).

“Life’s journey is not traveled on a freeway devoid of obstacles, pitfalls, and snares. Rather, it is a pathway marked by forks and turnings. Decisions are constantly before us. To make them wisely, courage is needed: the courage to say no, the courage to say yes. Decisions do determine destiny.

“The call for courage comes constantly to each of us. It has ever been so, and so shall it ever be. The battlefields of war witness acts of courage. Some are printed on pages of books or contained on rolls of film; whole others are indelibly impressed on the human heart” (Thomas S. Monson, “Courage Counts,” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 40).

Examples of Courage: The Prophet Daniel (See Daniel 6), Abinadi (Mosiah 11:20; 17:20), Helaman and the two thousand stripling warriors (Alma 56), Moroni (Moro. 1-10), Moses (Deut. 31:6), and The Prophet Joseph (D&C 135:4).

“Of course we will face fear, experience ridicule, and meet opposition. Let us have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God’s approval. Courage becomes a living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded not only as a willingness to die manfully, but as the determination to live decently. A moral coward is one who is afraid to do what he thinks is right because others will disapprove or laugh. Remember that all men have their fears, but those who face their fears with dignity have courage as well.”

Watch this spot!!
We will be offering tips and resources on the following life skills
- Communication
- Conflict Resolution
- Decision Making
- Money Management
- Credit – Pros & Cons
- Creating a budget
- Health
- Understanding ADA
- Dress for Success

(Any ideas? Email us!) [make “Email” a link to email This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it ]

Workshop

Motivational Stories

Inspirational Thoughts
”It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate; I am the CAPTAIN of my soul” – William Henley

Communication:
(Source: http://ce.byu.edu/cw/fuf/archives/2000/JerryHarris.pdf)

HELPFUL QUOTE

Christ-like communications are expressed in tones of love rather than loudness. They are intended to be helpful rather than hurtful. They tend to bind us together rather than to drive us apart. They tend to build rather than to belittle. Christ-like communications are expressions of affection and not anger, truth and not fabrication, compassion and not contention, respect and not ridicule, counsel and not criticism, correction and not condemnation. They are spoken with clarity and not with confusion. They may be tender or they may be tough, but they must always be tempered. L.Lionel Kendrick, _Christ-like Communications_, Ensign, Nov. 1988, p. 23

Conflict Resolution Methods

(Source: http://ccr.byu.edu/conflict_resolution_methods.cfm)

Spirit of Forgiveness (D.C. 64:9-10) Forgiveness can bring peace to the soul of the forgiver and the forgiven. Forgiveness is recognized in religion and in some social science literature to be a very important element in healing conflicts with other people. It helps heal the offender and the victim. One way to meet the demands of justice is through forgiveness. When a debt is forgiven, justice is restored. Usually the offender expresses remorse for wrongdoing and vows not to do the wrong again. Forgiveness can also be applied unilaterally without any response from the offender. (Gordon B. Hinckley, "Of You It Is Required to Forgive," Ensign, June 1991, 4)