Goals Again!

If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time. ~ Author Unknown

I have a wicked head cold this morning, so bear with me if this blog post sounds weird.

Last night I spent some time reading in a book called WishCraft. It's all about figuring out what you really want and then getting it.

She said a couple of things that I wanted to share, because this time of year people are all about setting goals OR defending their lack of goalsetting by saying that it doesn't work for them.

I firmly believe that if you don't set goals of some sort, you won't get to where you'd like to be. I also believe that you need to set realistic and specific goals.

The books states that if you set a goal, and work toward it, but it turns out that it wasn't the right goal for you, change it! Because: Goals exist only to serve you and make you happy.

Makes sense, doesn't it?

She also talks about taking bite sized pieces out of you goal. That: The sooner you start getting some of what you really want, the more energy you'll have to go for the rest of it.

If you goal is to "get published", then plan big (I want a three book deal with Kensington), but do something smaller just to get the ball rolling -- that's why I subbed my story to The Wild Rose Press. It's a start... a good way to get a taste of being published and it really made me ready for more!

Don't be afraid of setting goals and deadlines. But remember that you own them and not the other way around. Dream big, but then break it down into smaller pieces so you can achieve goals regularly (I will write one page every day) and feel good about it.

It's what I plan to do. I have, in fact, written out my goals and given them dates. I did not set goals that I have no power over (i.e. I will get published by Harlequin this year) but set ones that I can control (i.e. I will query Harlequin this year).

It's exciting to think about what can be in store. But if I don't have a map, how will I know when I get there?