For long-time visitors to my Glob, Sherry Isaac needs no introduction. She thunked me out of my hammock many times to share her wit and wisdom. Today, she returns with a short series on goals.
I have a sneaky suspicion this will ultimately result in exposure of my progress-to-date on lofty plans made for 2012.
If Sherry thinks she’s going to catch me with NOTHING going as planned, I take a preemptive strike. A to-do list item achieved thirty-one times in January, 2012. That completed task is…
1) Wake-up
Without further comment, I bring you Sherry Isaac. SPLAT.
Raised by Nancy Drew and Jane Marple, Alice Munro Short Story Award winner Sherry Isaac’s novels and short stories weave the common thread of everyday life, love and forgiveness into tales that transcend all things, including the grave. Find Sherry on the web, follow her on Twitter, like her on Facebook and read her blog posts at Romance & Beyond.
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STEP AWAY FROM JANUARY – IT MAY BE LOADED
by Sherry Isaac
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Yes. Loaded.
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December 31st, the clock strikes midnight, and like Cinderella, our lives are transformed. Lose the slipper, lose ten pounds. Land a prince, land a promotion, land an agent.
Water cooler conversation revolves around resolutions. Blog post after blog post focuses on goals. And why not? We can’t all be Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, scooped up by a millionaire. WOOT WOOT WOOT! (No, this clip is not in English, but WOOT transcends language barriers.)
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Goal-setting is an art form. It is also an integral part of this writer’s life.
I am no goal-setting guru, no resolution expert. I set out with good intentions, sometimes I fail, once in a while I succeed. I read the goals of others and applaud their commitment. I cheer their efforts and admire their dreams.
Hmm. Dreams? Some goals are dreams, and fine aspirations, but sadly, out of the goal-maker’s hands. I will get through winter without a cold is a goal that should make everyone’s list. And yet…
I see a few flies in the Vicks VapoRub.
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Everywhere I turn, goals are in abundance. Many dreams are big, big, big, and even so, attainable. And other dreams will turn to dust before the release of iPad 4.
Here on the hammock, over the next two posts, we’ll explore why.
To January, or not to January?
The custom of making resolutions as the new year rolls in is old as my mother-in-law dirt, but who says we have to make changes in our lives on January 1st? What about the other 364 days in a year?
Stuffed as the Christmas pig and acutely aware of our cranberry streusel muffin top, we swear off all things pudding, figgy or otherwise.
Guilt is an unreliable motivator. Life returns to normal and soon all the rah-rah-rah of diet promises wears thin. What’s the rush? We’ve got four more months before bikini season hits. Have another slice of pizza! Dip another toe in the hummus!
To make changes, real changes, we have to live those changes daily, but does every shift we make in our lives have to start on the same day?
January 1 seems like the perfect time to make a few adjustments, but the week between Christmas and New Years throws me off my game. I lack focus and energy.
A tendency to hibernate over the winter months doesn’t help.
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My birthday seems like a natural alternative, but at summer’s end, I know I’ll hit a road block as soon as the weather turns cooler and I retreat back in doors.
But what about spring?
For me, spring is the most natural time for renewal and growth. The days are longer. I emerge from my den. Sunlight, fresh air, the promise of spring, all work with my inner clock. Experience has shown I have a far greater success rate with goals I set as my world wakes up from winter.
Others may find winter works well, setting the blueprint while the world is at rest. Point is, choose a time that works for you, not the calendar.
Spread the Joy
Must we set all new goals on the same day? If that works for you, sure. But if it doesn’t, then don’t.
Intellectually, we understand that not every item on our list of goals must be accomplished over the course of one day, but when we compose the list in one day–lose ten pounds, write a novel, build a fence, clean the garage, plant a rose garden, climb Kilimanjaro and learn Japanese–the list can seem daunting.
Feeling overwhelmed can lead to discouragement. Discouragement can lead to failure long before item one gets struck off the list.
Packaging goals, and then spreading those goals across the calendar, could be your answer.
Consider setting career goals on the anniversary of your hire, or align those goals with performance reviews. Better yet, lay out your goals a month or two ahead of time, so you already have a plan in action when the boss books your review. You may even have a completed achievement or two as proof that you deserve that raise, that promotion, or both.
Combo-pack like goals. Tackle the loss of ten pounds over the winter months while learning to Salsa, and you’ll be ready to dance the summer nights away.
Balance
Easy peasy goals are pointless. If we wanted to coast on same old, same old, we wouldn’t set goals. Goals must take us out of our safety zones, challenge us, teach us or help us strive toward better things. Otherwise, we wouldn’t bother making that list.
However…
Lofty goals can put us behind, and keep us behind. Reach for the stars, but reach for them one at a time. Goals need to be tempered with reason and attainability.
Mix Goal-Setting with Pleasure
Add purpose to your goals. And rewards.
This can be simple: For instance, Gloria is working hard to stay away from Yogurtland and stay on track with her manuscript. When she meets her writing quota for the day for a week, Friday afternoon she goes to Yogurtland for a split tub of red velvet cake batter/cheesecake soft frozen yogurt topped with Ghiradelli Syrup.
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Or, this can be complex: Let’s say you’ve always wanted to learn another language, and you dream of traveling to Paris. Sign up for French classes, and plan that long-awaited trip for a year’s time. Two goals down, but when one is a reward, it seems less like work, and visions of the Eiffel Tower can be that carrot on a stick as you conjugate your verbs.
Keep The Target in Sight
Lose ten pounds. Write a novel. Learn to tango.
All of these goals are attainable, but if you write the list, grin with giddy pride as you read your trend-setting plans, then slide the list in the sock drawer where it will sit until next January, how much progress will you make?
Chances are, you’ll lose track of the goals you set. Chances are, your list will look the same next year.
Keep the list open. Keep the list accessible. Don’t put your list in a drawer, don’t close the file on your computer and never look back. Refer to the goals often.
A person struggling to lose weight slips a picture of a super-model under a refrigerator magnet. An aspiring actress chooses Oscar for a screen saver. The image she is striving for stays present in her mind.
Keep your goals front and center, and you’ll think twice before sinking your teeth into that double chocolate donut.
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Come back Friday for STEP AWAY FROM THE JANUARY, IT MAY BE LOADED — PART II, where we will feature Control Freaks in the Playground… or something like that. I’ll check my notes.
In the meantime, we’d love for you to share a goal or two of your own. Or just say ‘hi’. Gloria and I are needy like that.
Gloria Richard 
What a terrific post! Goals can sometimes seem so overwhelming that they quickly become discouraging, and we lose faith in ourselves and our abilities to reach those goals. Thanks for the gentle reminder that goals may be necessary to us writers, but they are achievable. Eeek…I need to add “learn to spell” to my list of goals!
Thanks for stopping by, April. And, yes, goals are something I struggle with in writing. My boss in that area is FAR too lenient. It’s a good thing I have Sherry to kick me into write-a-thons.
And *shudder* expose progress on those lofty goals.
The best advice she gave me one day when I felt overwhelmed and under-achieved was to list my WOO-HOOs — the list of things I had accomplished.
April, thanks for stopping by!
Goals can be overwhelming, even thinking about what goals to set can set some into panic, but what a great feeling when you know where you are going at the start of the day. And how spectacular to look back and say, I accomplished this, this and that!
Wow, Sherry, I don’t think you left any goal stone uncovered, that’s goal not gall.
I thought hummus was low cal? 🙂 Do I have to lay off the hummus?
Thanks to our goal-setting group meet every Sunday, I’ve felt more focused this year than others. I’m adding to my annual goals–try different ways to make money writing. Try it, if it doesn’t work, then try something different. It’s okay to scratch that goal off the list and move on!
Good for you, Sharon! You achieved TONS in 2011. Can’t wait to see what 2012 brings. Hope one of those money-making endeavors pays off–big time.
In re: the hummus, I’m not sure about its calorie content. I do know my Yogurtland Red Velvet Cake Batter and Cheesecake are FAT FREE!
Heavy sigh on the sugar content, though. The fat cells around my belly audibly scrinch, scrinch, scrinch when I eat it.
It’s back to the gym four days a week for me. There have to be ab muscles hidden in there.
Hummus, low cal. The chips we scoop the hummus with? Not so much. Especially when the goal is to empty the hummus container.
I’m right with you on moving forward when something doesn’t work. Life is full of changes, sometimes goals have to shift, too.
Come back on Friday for Part Deux!
Ah goals… When we make them, we are so resolute. I think we all start with good intentions. 🙂
The secret is to make them realistic. Between a pinch and a hurt, like Margie Lawson says…
I like that, Carole. Between a pinch and a hurt…
How did I miss that Margie wisdom? Perhaps I was
lolly-gaggingday-dreamingwriting, writing, writing when she said it.When I look back on my ROW 80 goals, I think they were achievable when I wrote them.
Life has a way of popping into my wanna-do bubble. Time to regroup and charge forward.
Between a pinch and a–OUCH! Gloria! No pinching on post days!
I checked with Dr. Sheldon Cooper. According to the Globmate Agreement, pinches are permitted on Wednesdays. (Page 47, Paragraph 3, Sub-paragraph 3.17 “In the even one Globmate…”)
Just so you know…
Hello Gloria and Sherry … you two make a dynamic duo with or without capes! I’ve sworn off resolutions, consider my birthday New Year (or Chinese New Year since their calendar is chronologically correct) and I have been attempting to pull back from too much goal setting. General goals for a year … not so bad but a trap. Quarterly goals for the next three months … who knows my car might explode or my kids might visit.
The way I have retrained my COD brain (Part II might be for me … control maven) … I set a weekly work schedule … since it is a given I’ll shop or cook or do something to move my body. I only set work schedules for a week or a month at a time and only for each project at a time. Rewrite or write new? Decide and commit. Edit and revise … get help and get moving.
ADHD and COD with a pinch of dislexia compells me to expend as much energy as I can with very clear and focused goals. Oh, did I mention you two are a hoot ? 🙂
Capes? Please don’t give Gloria any more ideas. We already have code names and the beginnings of a secret language.
Unless the cape requires a new pair of shoes. Then I’m in.
Car might explode? All I can say to that, Florence, is stay tuned for Part II, up Friday.
Go without your cape if you choose, Sherry.
Me? I plan to wear one because our Wonky Wonder outfits reveal more of my dimples than I care to share.
Oh, Sherry (to the tune of Journey’s song). I think I’ve shared my to-do list with you. TAKE OVER THE WORLD. No…Actually I’d like to finish my current WIP and send out a mountain of query letters. Then, I need to prep for my March release of Book 2 in my YA series. Those are all attainable without having a breakdown….right?
Brinda!
1. Thank you for picking Journey over The Four Seasons.
2. Take Over the World. Check.
3. Query letters: Have you begun targeting agents?
4. Cure for breakdowns, and whatever else may ail you: NAP
As the unofficial Miss Congeniality of today’s blog, I MUST ask what happened to World Peace in those listings?
Wait till you get your cape, Gloria.
That was #2. Of course, it will take a woman to get everyone to get along. Ta-da…world peace.
Nice save, Brinda!
What a terrific idea, to set your goals in the spring. As long as you remember to do it! I’ve always felt that the New Year arrives in the Fall with the advent of the school year and the end of summer. I find myself re-energized and re-organized in the Fall. But I’m on a goal setting loop that starts January First, so that’s when I set my goals, sigh. And I’m an over-thinker goal setter. I could never set waiting for yogurtland till Friday. What if I desperately needed it on Thursday? Would I need to write Friday’s work on Thursday to get to my yogurt? Ah, life’s little questions. I’ll check back to see what wise Sherry has to say next!
Jess, you can always set your goals in Fall, and then your group will think you are oh so ready. All you need in January is to set three or four months worth of goals – and you will have the opportunity to tweak those over-thought goals, depending on how your fall goes!
As for reward dishing up the Yogurtland rewards, be flexible.
No, Gloria, that does not mean you can go to Yogurtland Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday because it fits better into your schedule.
My boss is a practiced enabler, Jessica.
She lets me talk her into “just driving by” on my way to Central Market for a salad. She lets me talk her into stopping JUST to check the new flavors so I can internalize my Friday reward.
She lets me taste the new flavors. And, test them against my tried-and-yums.
She lets me have FAT FREE! yogurt instead of salad for lunch sometimes.
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I keep my goals simple. I want to make it to 2013 in one peace and breathing. In the process of extending my breathing practice I will clean my garage to my satisfaction. The toy selection in my garage is considerable so it’s a more rewarding goal than you might suspect.
Hey, Holmes! Thanks for popping by. Am I curious about the range of toys in your garage? You bet. Am I brave enough to ask? Erm. No. I fervently hope you achieve your 2012 goal.
Where else will I learn my history about and sit rep on current foreign affairs?
Okay, so, once the garage clean up is done, will the kiddies consider this an accomplishment, or a disaster?
I love when I get rooms (or garages) sorted. My pantry underwent an overhaul last month. I still open the door and gasp at the beauty!
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