New Year Goals

January, 12, 2010

Hi Grandma,

I sure miss you. And am also happy when I see that I have emails from you. Things are going good here. It´s sure hot but I am fine if I just keep in mind that it´s temporary and that the sun will go down sooner or later. No one has a scale here so I don´t know how much I weigh but I sure feel like I´ve gained weight. The meals are so big here. I couldn´t eat everything when I first got to Colombia but now I´m always hungry for more. However, I noticed I was eating too much and feeling really tired because of it, and I realized that I can´t let food get in the way of my ability to work so I´m eating more conservatively now.
I like your 3 things you said you are going to do this year. One thing I´ve learned in not only boy scouts and leadership classes in school, but also here on the mission, is that a goal needs to be measurable or else it can´t be accomplished cuz you don´t know what exactly you´re working for and then when it´s all said and done you don´t know how to measure it. -So for example (that is, if you want my opinion:)) You can put for your goals: "Read my scriptures 1 hour every day" or maybe "read my scriptures for 30 min in the morning and 30 min at night" - "I will not start my day without a prayer and I will not close my day without the same." - "I will lose 7 lbs."
All those are examples but if you can measure it, then the next step is easy which is you can identify how you´re going to accomplish your goal.- And just remember this quote that a friend shared with me and I really like it,
"Failure? I never encountered it. All I ever met were temporary setbacks." -Dottie Walters
Ok Grandma, I must go. I´m excited to see your newly decorated home. You´ve always been really good with making the home feel relay cozy and inviting so I´m sure you´re gonna do the same :)
I love you so much and I will talk to you soon.
Love,
Elder Matthew McDermott

p.s. I gotta go to the temple yesterday in Bogota. Most of the day was traveling, so that stunk, but goodness the peace I felt in the temple helped my testimony to grow and made me want to work even harder as a missionary cuz I want people to feel the truth that I felt.

love ya