Diligence

     The next Attribute of Christ is Diligence. Life is very busy and there are very many things in this world that we can do with our time. A lot of things may seem good to be doing, but there are always better things that we can occupy our time with. An important part of being diligent is focusing our efforts on the things that are most important. For example, should we attend the soccer game on Sunday, or go to church? Some decisions are a little less obvious; should I get my work done this evening, or spend time with my family? Whatever the case may be with our busy lives, to be diligent we must focus on the things that bring us closer to God and strengthen ourselves and our family relationships.
     Another important part of being diligent is setting goals and following through with them. How often do we make plans to accomplish a task, only to have those same plans evaporate into the heat of our busy days? When we do not set goals, our plans are without any sort of vision. We head off into the dark, and who knows if our tasks will ever actually be completed during the time we spent wandering around. We will continue to procrastinate and wait for a better time only to find that it will never actually come. Goals are the light at the end of the tunnel, the measuring stick used to evaluate our effectiveness.

     You can tell a lot about a person by how they work when they think no one is watching. How would you like to find out that your "hardest working" employees didn't actually do anything while you were out to lunch? We need to have that same attitude in all of our actions. If we are truly diligent it won't matter if anyone is watching us because we will work hard at all times. Another part of this is working till you have successfully completed the task at hand. At no point should you ever give up. "You have not failed until you have quit trying." -Gordon B. Hinckley (Nov. 1983 Ensign, Live Up to Your Inheritance.)