"I wish I could write a novel."

"Someday, I'd like to do our family history."

"I need to treat my writing more like a business and less like a hobby."

Are these wishes or goals? What is the difference?

A wish is a desire with no plan of action attached. When a person continually wishes for something, but makes no effort to achieve it, the wish loses power. This creates a state of perpetual frustration because part of the individual wants this thing, but a lack of effort is telling another part of her/him that she/he doesn't really want it after all. Sooner or later the frustration gets tiresome, and to ease it, will decide the individual will decide that it just isn't worth wishing for anymore.

Does this mean that all wishing is bad? No. Especially when wishing is a precursor to a goal. When you attach a plan of action to a wish, that wish can start going places.

But is it important to have goals? What are the benefits of setting them?

People who continually set, pursue and monitor goals are generally more productive in all areas of life. With clearly defined goals, it is easier to know what kind of things you must give your energy too, as well as what kind of things you cannot afford to do. The end result is that choices are easier and life is more balanced. A clear set of goals will bolster your sense of purpose and determination and encourage positive thinking and energy.

So how do you set goals? You need some ideas to start with. Perhaps you have some ideas of where you would like to take your writing. Maybe you aren't sure.

First thing, you need quiet time to sit down where you will not be distracted and think seriously about this. This could mean going to the park by yourself for an afternoon, finding a hidden spot at your local library, or simply staying up after everyone else is asleep

If you really have no idea what you want to accomplish then brainstorm to get a list together of what you might like to accomplish. Form a question of the wish that you would like to turn into a goal: "What would I like to accomplish with my writing this year?" After you ask the question, immediately begin recording your ideas. You've probably heard them before, but here are the rules for brainstorming:

1) Suspend all judgement. Nothing is unimportant, too crazy, or too silly to include.

2) Think quantity, not quality. The more ideas you generate, the better your chances of hitting on something new and useful.

3) Extrapolate and experiment. No matter how nonsensical it might seem, take your ideas to the highest level. Combine ideas in unusual ways to simulate new ideas.

4) Evaluate later. Do not close your mind to any suggestions. An idea that seemed ridiculous yesterday might be ingenious tomorrow.

Remember, you're going for quantity, and give your imagination full rein. You might feel a little silly writing down some of your ideas. It's normal. Do it anyway!

If you have in mind exactly what you'd like to do, skip the brainstorming for now and write it down.

Now you're ready for the next step:

Review your notes. Look over your responses and choose up to three that are most important to you. Work on only a few at a time. The fewer goals of significance that you're pursuing at one time, the more likely you will be able to give quality time and attention to each.

To make sure these are goals and not wishes, they must include three important elements. These are:

1) They are challenging but realistic. In other words, the goal makes you stretch your limits a bit, but the scope or proposed timetable is not out of the range of possibility.

2) They are quantifiable, that is they can be measured or counted. In terms of writing, it could be a page quantity or a time quantity, or the completion of a certain project. You must be able to gauge when you have reached your goal.

3) They are associated with a time line. Without a time line, your approach will lack focus--no clear idea of how to focus your energy. It amounts to a lack of commitment.

How would you change these wishes, simply by rewording them, into goals?

"I wish I could write a novel."

"Someday, I'd like to do our family history."

"I need to treat my writing more like a business and less like a hobby."

For each of the goals you decide upon, you may want to add sub-goals to support them. The smaller the increments, the easier they are to accomplish and the sooner you will be getting the feeling of moving forward. This is important when it comes to keeping a positive outlook and a positive attitude is extremely important, as we will see shortly.

Lastly consider the time frame in which you want to accomplish this goal. Take time to consider this carefully. If your time line is too short for the goal, then you turn your realistic goal into an impossible one. Conversely if your time line is too long, the goal loses its challenge and you may find yourself losing interest.

Also be aware that you may need to shift the time line en route. As you become more aware of the realities involved in attaining your goal, you may find your initial time line unrealistic. This is not simply an excuse to change your time line at will. It simply acknowledges that planning to attain a goal, and pursuing it are two different kinds of activities.

Remember to always budget more time than you estimate you will need. This allows for the unforeseen and also gives you time to play. Everyone needs down time.

Plot your time line on a calendar, graph or flowchart--whichever suits you best. Keep it visible and keep it current.

Here is an example of what one writer does. This is from the book Writing for Young Adults by Sherry Garland (Writer's Digest Books, 1998). She sets up her writing year this way:

On January 1 she chooses three things that she wants to accomplish in the upcoming year. She makes sure that the goals are both realistic and specific.

Then she establishes monthly goals for each of the three major goals.

From there she works down to weekly goals and calendars them. Then she narrows things down to daily goals.

She notes too, that it's important to plan time off.

Once the goals are in place, how do you stay on track?

Know why you are working toward this goal. Without strong commitment, it is hard to reach a challenging goal. Now is a good time to consider what kind of payoff is motivating you. Why do you want this?

Write it down. Committing goals to paper increases the possibility of achieving them. Talking about them is okay, but it's still too easy to get away with vagueness and nonsense without really realizing it. Putting thoughts on paper forces you to get to specifics. It becomes harder to deceive yourself or anyone else when your goals are reduced to writing.

Cultivate a positive atmosphere. Studies show that your subconscious ingests information about your life and concludes that the way things are is the way they should be. Your subconscious is change-resistant. So when you introduce a goal that means changing the status quo, you're automatically up against a subconscious that has decided that despite what you say, what you really want is to stay right where you are. You tend to continue to think the same way you've been thinking, to act as you've been acting--doing exactly what you've always done and ending up with the same result. It's your subconscious that plants doubts and fears when you choose a goal that means forward movement.

So what do you do to combat this enemy? Recognize the power of the positive. Those negative assumptions that start in your mind often end up being self-fulfilling prophesies. When you assume you can't do something or that you're failing in the attempt, your subconscious has ammunition to use in getting you to act in ways that guarantee failure, which will reinforce the original assumption and preserve the status quo. So not only is it necessary to root out negative thoughts, but they must be replaced with positive ones. You first have to believe that what you want is possible, before you can make any progress.

This means developing positive thoughts, positive actions, positive words and a positive outlook. Many people use "affirmations"--positively worded phrases that support your goal that can be read silently or aloud or repeated when you catch yourself thinking negatively.

Surround yourself with positive reminders that this is a worthwhile goal and you will benefit from reaching it. Pinch negative thoughts in the bud. Don't give them time to work along with the subconscious that wants things to stay the same.

Experts say that it takes an average of 21 days for new habits to take hold. If you stick with it long enough, the subconscious will get the message that this is the new status quo. Then the subconscious stops being the enemy and will actually work with you toward your goal.

It is also important in this area, not to compare yourself with others. Make sure that your goals are truly your own, because then you can proceed happily without being sidetracked by the accomplishments of others. An example of what can happen is "keeping up with the Joneses." Some people will decided they need a new boat because their best friend just bought one. Well, they have just adopted their best friend's goal instead of making their own. And when they do get the boat--or don't get the boat--there is no real satisfaction in reaching the goal, because it had no personal meaning. Such an individual is simply pursuing something someone else had achieved and is more concerned with what others think of them than what they think of themsleves. Jeff Davidson (The Complete Idiot's Guide to Reaching Your Goals, Alpha Books, 1998) defines this as being "other-directed."

Put your goals where you will see them every day. If you have a chart or calendar that makes your progress visible as well, all the better.

Be sure to examine obstacles that stand in your way. This could be anything from finding uninterrupted time to quelling negative thoughts. Brainstorm again about ways to overcome these barriers. Draw on your creativity to come up with workable solutions.

People can help. Small teams and one-on-one partnerships can spur you to heights you might not reach on your own. The most helpful people are those who:

That's us, right here in our own little writing community! Thanks to the computer age, proximity is as close as the computer.

Set up your world to be surrounded by people eager to offer advice and support. Remember that you must be open to them.. Look forward to hearing from them, and listen carefully to their advice. Be appreciative and have something to offer in return.

It is very important that you enjoy yourself in the pursuit of your goal. Success breeds success. You don't just think you can, you know you can!

Exercise:

--Develop three long-term writing goals.

--Follow these up with sub-goals and actions to support them.

--Make sure your goals contain the three necessary ingredients to make them work

--Come up with some positive thoughts with which you will battle your subconscious.

--Think of ways we can use this group to help get your goals accomplished.

You can choose to share your goals by posting them if you would like. I would particularly like seeing your responses to that final question of how we can help one another reach the goals we set.

Something else to think about that we discussed in chat. It might help us have a unity of purpose and support here if we had some group goals. Does this sound like a good idea to you? If so, brainstorm on what those goals might be and post the list here for discussion.