What can you do to make sure that what you’re doing is leading somewhere? When you look back, will you be able to see how far you’ve come?
When an archer wants to hit a target with his arrow, he first has to put up a target. This may sound a trifle obvious. Yet writers everywhere “shoot their arrows” randomly, never bothering to consider what they are doing, why they are doing it, and where it will take them. They are too busy just trying to survive.
Goals give you something to aim for. They are your target. They help you to decide between the important and the trivial. Only if you know where you want to go can you figure out the best way to get there. You can’t route a trip without knowing your destination.
“That’s all well and good for you,” you may be thinking. “Goals might help you bunches, but as soon as I make goals, I go right out and break them!”
I felt the same way. In fact, I had reached the point where I decided not to make any goals at all, because the only service they performed in my life was to make me feel guilty! But then I discovered I was making the wrong kind of goals!
WHY GOALS DON’T WORK.
For several years, I’ve had the same goal. Every January 1st, I promise myself that this year, I’m going to lose that ten pounds for good. By January 10th, I’ve decided to wait until next year and try again.
What happens? Long about January 8th, I have a bad day. I punch the snooze button on my alarm one too many times and don’t work out. I’m on deadline, and donuts are easier to consume than making a healthy meal. When I look up from my computer, I discover my six-year-old using her rubber stamp collection on my new kitchen wallpaper. Obviously, the only remedy for that is Chocolate Chocolate Chip ice cream. I fall into bed exhausted, my diet effectively killed.
I blew it, so what is the point of trying to continue? Next year I’ll do it up right, and maybe even get past January! What’s wrong with this picture? I made a goal I’m going to have difficulty keeping, if it’s feasible at all. Habits don’t change overnight, and everyone has bad days! I hadn’t taken the time to reflect upon why losing weight was important to me. I simply had the vague notion that it was the right thing to do.
In order for goals to work for you, they must motivate. You must know why it is important to reach those goals, no matter what it takes to get there. Goals are self-defeating if all they do is produce guilt.
Goals are the target. They must be end products, not just means to an end. I’d like to suggest some guidelines to use for setting meaningful goals that will help you get where you want to be.
1.) Goals should be SPECIFIC. When I decided to set my first writing goal, it went like this: I want to be a writer.
An admirable goal, but hardly measurable.
What defines a writer? One page? A slot on the NYT bestseller list? Since I hadn’t
set a limit, how would I know when I’d hit my target? I couldn’t be encouraged
by my progress when it couldn’t be marked!
You then need to decide which answers are the most positive and motivating for you. My goal looked like this: I will write a romance.
Now I know when I hit the target. My goal is achievable. It is an end. I can write The End! The means to finish a book will involve seeing those pages pop off the computer, and can be handled through scheduling and planning.
Another way to make a goal specific is to put a time limit on it. Let’s see how
this works for my goal: I will write a romance by the end of this year. I not only know
what I want, but when to expect it.
Yet dreams can hamper us if they become impossible obsessions. Sometimes our goals are out of reach, and we need to acknowledge that. We must change our goals so that they stretch us, but don’t break us. Goals must be achievable or they are self-defeating.
I had to do some research to find out if my goal is reachable or not, by learning what was reasonable for me to write. I write quickly, so four to six books a year is a reachable goal for me. For other people, writing that many books would be committing mental suicide. My arrow will fly only so far. I must realize this and keep my target within a reasonable range.
While making unreachable goals can hamper your effectiveness, many writers, often stricken by low self-esteem or similar problems, go to the opposite extreme. Instead of placing your targets too far away, do you set them so close that there’s barely room to draw back your bow?
As you consider what you’d like to achieve in the future, don’t sell yourself short. Give yourself room to grow and progress. Remember, too, that a goal that seems overwhelming from here may be less intimidating broken into parts. You can learn, and change, and grow, one step at a time, using goals that are specific, realistic, and that mean something to you.
3.) Goals should be PERSONAL.
I’ve got a confession to make. Writing is hard work. Whoever makes it sound easy has either never tried it or is lying through her teeth.
But I do it. Five to six days a week, I spend my day glued to my computer. Why do I do it, when I could be out tanning in the sunshine? (Okay, maybe not in January!)
Because I want my goal. It is important to me. Getting published, seeing my name on the cover of a book, is what I’ve wanted to do as long as I can remember. Writing is tough, but it’s worth it when my characters take on a life of their own, when I fall in love with my hero right along with my heroine.
If a goal doesn’t mean anything to you, don’t bother making it, because you probably won’t follow through.
A goal needs to be important enough to work on even during off-days. A goal needs to motivate you to grow even when each step seems tedious, boring or even downright excruciating.
There are several questions you can ask of yourself and your goal to decide if it is personal and has the stick-with-it-ness necessary to achieve it.
-Why do I want to accomplish this goal?
-What kind of time will my goal take to achieve?
-What are the various steps involved in achieving this goal?
-Can I handle each step as it comes?
-Is my goal important enough to me to keep working on it?
-What will I have to give up in order to achieve this goal?
These questions aren’t foolproof. You may still occasionally start up on a project and scrap it mid-stride because you discovered it just wasn’t right for you. And that’s OK--occasionally. These questions simply help you make wise choices before investing valuable time and effort into something you’re going to give up.
You, too, may benefit from conscientiously making and applying goals that help you focus on and move toward your dreams. Set up your target carefully, and then aim those arrows!
Debra Kastner is an active member of HODRW and serves as Treasurer. Her first book
Beloved is an August release from Multomah Palisades.
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