Greetings All –
One of the joys of my life coaching practice has been all the writers I’ve attracted into my life. This little tidbit is for them and all the other aspiring writers you may know who want to spend a little getaway time nurturing their art. American poet James Nave – a friend and inspiration – and screenwriter/editor Allegra Huston are bringing their renowned Writing Salon to Abbeyglen Castle on the west coast of Ireland in April. Does that sound like a heavenly vacation or what?
There are also upcoming salons in Charleston, S.C., and Taos, N.M. in May and July, respectively. For more information, check out www.thewritingsalon.net.
So I pick up my November issue of O magazine and I find an article that hits me between the eyes — Pow. It’s titled, “Are Your Goals Holding You Back?” For a woman who makes a living helping people set goals, this headline was a little daunting.
But I was pleasantly surprised to read the piece and see it agrees with something I’ve been saying and, in fact, living for a long time. It boils down to tunnel vision vs. peripheral vision. If you set a goal and don’t leave any room for opportunities outside of that goal, then it could be detrimental to have the goal. Simple.
Let’s use Christopher Nelson as an example. This is a guy who landed a job with Country Music Television as a blogger; in short, he makes $100,000 a year watching reruns of “The Dukes of Hazzard” and blogging about it. Now I suppose it’s possible one day Christopher woke up and decided to set a goal for himself that went, “Land a job making six figures while watching TV,” but isn’t it more likely he was hoping to do something he was passionate about that utilized his creativity? And that maybe he was open?
I had never heard of web producing or life coaching before I started to do them, so I couldn’t have set out to get into those particular fields. However, I happen to be receptive to smart, sensible ideas. Then I run with them. Keep in mind, sometimes there’s nothing better than setting a goal and making it happen with determination and fire and a certain brand of singlemindedness.
Try not to set goals based on societal, parental or peer pressure. I know women whose goal is to get married and have children by age 30. Does that mean regardless of whether or not true love comes along? Do you get married because it’s “time?” And what about those who fall a little short of a goal and freak out? Is the problem that they set a goal? Or do they perhaps need to work on not being so self-critical?
By all means, set some goals. It’s up to you to decide which situations call for tunnel vision and which call for peripheral vision. The important thing is, either way you have vision.
The New Year is fast approaching. Let’s sit down and create some goals that will take your life up a few notches in 2006.
