The following is the first in a series by Wren Doloro entitled On Making Goals for Writing and Life. A later post in this series is: 7 ways to Write Everyday
 |
| How do you make Alphabet Soup into Success? |
Despite all this, I am rather organized. Every major thing in my life I’ve wanted to get done, I got done. And reasonably fast, too. For what I lack in a linear process, I gain in enthusiasm and passion. This drive gets me to ‘Z.’
 |
| To travel you need destinations before deciding a route |
Something very important to me in my process is to write the goals down. Let me say this again: Write the goals down.
To write goals down, fuzzy ideas have to become concrete. Once the goals are concrete, todo lists and plans can fall into line. How can anyone hit the bullseye without the bullseye?
Fast Forward. They both go to Northern Ireland and go to Belfast. Turns out Norman mostly wants to hang out in bars and talk to locals. Fred thinks thats ok, but he loves experiencing history like he did on their bus tour.
Fred wants to check out churches, prisons and murals. Then he’d like to go on to places outside of Belfast. Norman agrees to some things nearby, but mostly Fred’s plans sound expensive.
If you don’t have a clear idea of what you want to do on a trip with another person, this happens all the time. I know, I’m a travel brat.
Guess what? Real life is full of other people! If they have a clearer goal than you, they’re more likely to get it.
 |
| Incorporating your Passion into your goals gives you super powers! |
Ok so you say you know everything you want to do. Do you have it on your wall so you see it when you wake up? By where you brush your teeth? In your kitchen? Even in a notebook you use for your project? On your corkboard? No? No motivational collage? No related background for your computer or cellphone? None of the above? Really?
Well then sure, you know, but then you might
- go a bunch of days without thinking about it
OR worse
- stress yourself out because you have to constantly remind yourself of your goals to get them done.
OR even worse
- You don’t actually care about your goals. They have not been articulated well enough for you to stay excited.
You should want your top goals. You should crave them. A burning urge to cover ground on your goals fills you every time you see that motivational picture, or that goal written out.
Write goals in the present. Examples are:
- I am driving a teal convertible to my mansion on a hill.
- I am calling a crowd of 500 people to save the whales
- I am finished my first draft by September 2012.
 |
| When in doubt, read! |
Comments on this entry are closed.
I TOTALLY love the idea of writing your goals in the present…that one gave me goosebumps!! Thanks…
You’re welcome Deb! A similar tool I like is to visualize things as I’d like them— like sitting down to write at a desk with a shelf full of my previous works.