The Challenge

I went to a Relief Society weekday meeting last week where they were encouraging all women to do (or re-do) the Personal Progress Program again.

It's been re-vamped since I was a youth and it was interesting to hear about it.

I even sat there thinking, "Yea, I should pick that up and work on it here and there a little", because it's a REALLY good program, and WHO doesn't need a spiritual kick start, right?

It was then that my friend Rachel leaned over to me and said, "I bet I can finish before you!"

Now, ANY of you that knows me, would KNOW that what she said was really all it took.

"It's on!", I said.

Then we recruited our other friend Jessica to do it too.

So after I got home, I ordered a manual and started reading some of the requirements online, because in MY mind, I was going to finish before the baby came around the first of December.

I could do it and beat those two.....I knew it.

THEN......I realized, the program is about building habits, so there's a lot of "long term" type goals. And not only THAT, I realized that I needed this program more then I thought!

With the 7 values (Faith, Good Works, Knowledge, etc.) , there are 6 required things to complete and a 10 hour project with each one.

With the 8th value, there's 4 things to pass off with the project being reading the whole Book of Mormon (starting at the beginning, obviously).

It was super easy coming up with the 10 hour projects I wanted to do with each value, because unlike my teenage years, I can find a LOT I need to work on and would like to accomplish.

The trick is, you can't START those projects until the 6 experiences of that value are done.

It's funny though because I remember sitting down with my Young Women's leader and having her say, "Oh, you're already doing this in school", "Or that will count", or "since you DID bring other people with you, you could count THEIR hours towards your project", etc.

This time, that won't work. I actually WANT to get things done, I WANT to be better and frankly, if I'm supposed to be the nurturer and a spiritual leader for my kids, I NEED to be better.

What started out as "friendly competition" and I'll-win-no-matter-what, has turned into quite an eye-opening and humbling experience (self-evaluation ALWAYS turns into quite a humbling experience for me).

Yes, I'm trying to finish certain values before the baby gets here just because I realize the project I've picked will be easier to get done BEFORE he comes, but I'll also be enjoying the little changes I see in me and as a result, my home life and parenting.