Monday's Keister Kick: Goals. Set Them, Live Them, Love Them.



So.. after a week off from blogging to spend some great time with the family.. (who knew, I have 5 kids now), it's time to get back on things.. and what better way to get back into the groove than to get some goals out there.

I know we all like to talk about setting goals, we set them, we post them in our blogs, we tweet about them, sometimes we even write them on paper and tack them to our wall or tape them to our mirror.. we do all this great stuff with our goals.

... except WORK THEM.

At least.. that's me. Probably not you. I realize that while I may not have come to embody all that is depressing about the human condition, I DO have a problem with procrastination.  Why do Today what can be put off until Tomorrow, or next week, or next year.. or never.

Working a goal isn't hard, there are tons of great catch phrases to latch onto.. "Plan your work and work your plan!".. "If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up someplace else.".. "Life is not a matter of chance, it's a matter of choice."

I love all of those, they sound great, they pump you up and put a fire in your eye.. but the problem is.. they're just words, not actual fuel for your fire. Your fire has to come from within.. the fuel has to be in you. You can't borrow it from someone else, if you could, we'd all be rich and successful and look like Gap Models..

.. but most of us don't.  Beginning is easy.. and Finishing is unlike any other experience.. it's the middle part that's hard.  The part that drags on day after day.. the part that requires discipline, and work. The part that is never glorified in movies.  If I could montage my writing process like a Rocky Movie.. I'd have novels that would kick Ivan Drago's butt..


.. unfortunately, however, my montage seems to take months, and I seem to lose focus after a couple of weeks.

So what kicks your butt into shape?  What is it that makes you get up and go after the emotion of the beginning has waned?  What gets you on that treadmill, or in front of your keyboard tapping away?

I'm about a month into my latest bit of goal chasing, and luckily I've got my wife to keep me going. I'm working out at 5am most mornings, and then coming into my office to keep my writing going.

For me right now, thinking of having something polished to pitch at LDStorymakers is very motivating.

So.. what's kicking your Keister these days?



Comments

  1. Awesome, Kevin! Yaaaay for Mrs. Hiatt. Tell her to keep pushing you! :-)

    And for me, I'm all about momentum... once I'm in the zone, I'm *there* but if I fall out of it, it's HARD to get back in... Holidays do that...

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  2. Following through with my goals have been shoddy, as of late, something I plan to fix in the next month. Thanks for the kick in the keister. :)

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