Monday Meanderings - January 2nd

First Meandering ...

A new year. Yes, it's an arbitrary date, but it always feels like a fresh page. 

A new start.

A new me.

Well, not really a new me. We all know that we're still who we were the day before, but the potential is so fraught with possibilities. It's almost irresistible.

So, here's an adorable little girl to explain to you why New Year's Resolutions can be a good thing.

Second Meandering ...

Hubby is installing the appliances and has almost all the main floor painted.

What are some of your hopes/goals/plans for 2017?

Happy New Year!

Source: PowerPoint

A new year is like the blank page of a new project. So, are you a pantster or a plotter when it comes to your life? Do you give thought to what you want to accomplish or just wing it?

Some years ago, a lady at church made a rather profound observation about goals. She said a goal that cannot be achieved isn't a goal at all. It's a dream. You know about dreams, right? Those things we spend time thinking about but never actually doing anything about?

I know many people who don't like to do New Years resolutions, and I can kind of understand it. These resolutions have gotten to be a bit of joke, where people set them and by February 1st they've given up on them.

This begs the question then: why do resolutions so often fail?

I think it may go back to that statement by the lady at church. Are we setting resolutions that are really dreams, things we think might be fun to accomplish but for which we're doing nothing to prepare ourselves for success?

A goal (resolution) must be achievable. If my goal is to take a vacation in Hawaii yet I make no effort to save money to pay for it, I won't ever be going to Hawaii. If I want to write a book but never do anything but edit the first three chapters, then it can never be anything but a dream.

So what if I choose a goal that's too big to achieve? Break it down into steps that can be achieved. Maybe you don't have enough discretionary income to save for your trip to Hawaii. So, perhaps it's time to look at ways to get rid of that debt, cut some things you don't really need. Maybe you don't know how to finish your book, so attend some writing conferences, become a member of a critique group, sign up for Camp NaNo.

The bottom line is this: DO something.

Some of my goals:
* Keep track of the books I read
* Do my first writing presentation (twice)
* Attend LTUE
* Attend the ANWA conference
* Attend Storymaker
* Survive the launch of my first book this June
* Finish editing my NaNo project (writing it was one of my 2012 goals) by the end of this month so I can submit it to my critique group with the plan to submit to my publisher later this year
* Spend Christmas on Kaui'i (with my daughter who lives there)

What are your plans for 2013?

A New Year . . . and Resolutions

I'm going to the iWriteNetwork Workshop on January 21st. 

Anybody else coming?

It's that time of year to first look back and then ahead.

Definitions
resolution - A firm decision to do or not to do something 
goal - The result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.

I know a lot of people hate the idea of New Years resolutions. I don't have a problem with them. I'm a goal-setting person and a list checker offer. I love the list I made for myself for the last part of December and the feeling of focus and accomplishment I felt as I've been marking things off.

I'm also realistic. No way will I always be able to achieve the goals I set. But if I don't strive for something--and keep a reminder of it in front of me--I'm guaranteed to do nothing.

And the "keep it in front of you" is important. One year on New Year's Day, I wrote a list of goals for myself for the year in my journal. One included writing in my journal every day.

Um . . . the following year on New Year's Day I opened that journal again for the first first time in a year and saw those goals again.

Epic fail!

Whether I call them resolutions or goals, these are mine for 2012:

• Query A Change of Plans
• Make changes suggested by editor
• Go to Kaua'i for 10 days in January -- I know, this is a tough one, but I gotta visit the grandkids! *sigh* It's such a terrible sacrifice. NOT!
• Finalize the cover  for A Change of Plans in case I self-publish
• In February attend Life, the Universe, and Everything (LTUE)
• In March go back to Kaua'i for grandson's baptism
• In May attend Storymaker
• Finish my 2011 NaNo project in time to give the published book to my granddaughter for her  birthday in July (she's the main character).
• Work through issues with my SciFi project, including doing a simple outline for turning it into a trilogy
• Attend League of Utah Writers Roundup
• Get a basic outline for my 2012 NaNo project (sequel to A Change of Plans)
• Attend the Authors Incognito retreat for NaNo
• Be glad it's not an election year . . . for me.

What about you? Are you a resolution / goal person? Do you have some things you'd like to accomplish in 2012?