About Setting Goals (And Meeting Them)

So I've been thinking a lot about goals and what keeps us from reaching them.  I've never been big on setting New Year's Resolutions because (to be honest) I rarely keep them past the end of February.  Okay, okay, past the end of January.  Besides, most NYR are pretty unspecific:  I want to lose weight.  I want to write the breakout novel.  I want to stop spending so much money at Starbucks.  (Okay, that last was a bit of a stretch, but you get the idea.)


Goals, on the other hand, are much more concrete:  I want to lose 20 pounds by losing one pound a week.  I will finish my novel by writing 1000 words a day.  I'll only go to Starbucks once twice four times a week.


I've also been examining what keeps us from following through on our goals.  For me, at least, it's usually one of two things:  laziness or fear.  I don't meet my weight loss goals because I get lazy, stop working out, quit asking for non-fat lattes, and start ordering sweet tea instead of water.


The writing goal is a little more complex.  You see, I want to finish the sequel to Finding My Escape.  I want to make my blog extra pretty, and write an article for it at least two or three times a week.  What stops me here is fear.  What if my writing isn't good enough?  What if no one wants to read it?  What if (gasp) someone actually tells me he/she doesn't like what I've written?  What if I don't like what I've written?  I could go on and on.


Well this year I've decided to face my fears (and stop being lazy).  I set some concrete goals, and I plan to meet each and every one.  And I'm going to write about the journey here.  Eclectically of course.