At the end of 2015 I felt a bit like I was floating through life and not accomplishing anything. The opportunity to do a little online self study course came up – it was about setting goals for the next year, it was called Best Year Ever.

The program walked me through my interests and my why. Why did it matter to have goals? I was being asked to answering questions about my motivation for having goals. Once I knew my motivation for the goals, I was able to set those goals. The goals I had to set, and anyone else doing the program, were specific, challenging, and measurable.

I made about 15 (not recommended), but 5 were fun ones. I actually achieved all of those, even though I though they seemed impossible when I made them.

The other 10 goals were the hard ones. But almost all of them got thrown out in the first weeks of January. One of the goals was related to writing a book and was for later in the year. But when opportunity knocked with a writing program, I made the decision to write the book, starting the day I was accepted into the program. Most of the other goals were left on paper and never worked on, replaced with writing a book. Even though I never achieved them, the process of creating those goals was part of the process of getting clarity to write my book. Something that I think will serve me better in the long term than the initial goals were.

I haven’t spent a lot of time setting goals since then, just a few here or there – mostly related to my book.

Now that Blue Sky Morning is out, I’m working on a few other things related to publicizing it. The next step will be to decide what project to work on next. I have a new pair of books featuring Eve that I’m in the early stages of, a children’s book, and a non-fiction book that’s on my mind. Which I’ll do next I’m not sure of. But soon I’ll start working on a new set of goals, the clarity in that will point me in the right direction.

As 2017 comes to a close, take time to think hard about goals. The kind you want to work hard toward achieving. The kind that might just change your life.

I invite you to share your goals below.

Happy New Year!

Crissy