Painting My Goals With Broad Strokes
As a freelancer and entrepreneur, I’ve never held much stock in New Year’s resolutions. It doesn’t mean I don’t set goals for the coming year, just that I see them in a different light. I look at the coming year as a clean, fresh 5 subject, college-ruled notebook I get to fill with both the top level goals I want to manifest, and, as the year unfolds, the progress I make and the lessons I get to learn on my journey.
For 2020, I want to focus primarily on 3 things:
- Taking Self-care to new levels
- Publishing some of my personal projects
- Making my businesses strong, highly profitable, and self-sustaining
In truth, these goals serve a higher purpose. They allow me to realize several dreams that are close to my heart including:
- Philanthropic projects
- Doing a TED Talk on mental health issues
- Moving into my dream home
Allowing for the Details to Occur Naturally
I’ve learned it’s easy to get mired in the details and stuck in the weeds, so the following list 
may seem vague in places, but is geared towards allowing myself the latitude to recognize the opportunities when they present themselves throughout the year.
- Publish “Sasha’s Journey” and “Rebuilding After Suicide”, if not other works as well
- Create an e-book from blog posts
- Do another NaNoWriMo
- Move into my Dream Home
- Maintain a debt-free life
- Build an artists’ retreat
- Monthly massages
- Add Yoga to healthy habits
In all honesty, I have no clear idea how I’ll make any of these things happen. However, experience has shown I achieve more when I set clear intentions. The stepping stones and paths I need to take will begin to appear once the intentions are set. In fact, some may already be here, but until I make it clear I want to proceed down a path, they might be invisible to me. Setting the intention is like turning on a spotlight to illuminate a path which might have been there all along, but remained shrouded in shadows until I was ready to see it.
Giving Imagination Space to Roam
My mind is like a bullet train racing along its tracks, the scenery a blur through the windows, never pausing long enough to see anything clearly, be it cities, farmland, or vast stretches of uninhabited terrain. My mind races in a hundred different directions, only catching glimpses of ideas along the way, The train’s windows clear when it slows and stops at a station where passengers can disembark to get a better look around them, or remain on board until they reach a planned stop, or a place which intrigues them. My mind slows when something triggers its interest. Intentions and goals give it something to watch out for; a destination as it were.
I’ve learned it’s easy to get distracted by the plethora of opportunities and choices without a clear vision of where I want to go, or what I’d like to accomplish. A clear picture helps me weed out all the shiny objects I encounter along the way, honing in on the ones which show promise of supporting my goals. My bullet train brain slows only for locations which show promise of feeding those visions.
Choosing the Method that Suits You Best
As diverse as entrepreneurs are, so too are ideas about setting goals. To some, mine might 
seem unduly vague. Theirs might seem unnecessarily busy to me. Neither approach is wrong. We choose what best supports the way we think, dream, and act. I’ve learned I require more latitude and the ability to change directions easily. Others need a narrow focus with few distractions and a detailed plan, much like writers who are plotters or pantsers.
Admittedly, I might be closer to my goals had I planned in more detail and forced myself to adhere to the plan. But I’d have learned less; have less to write about; and missed so much in the process. My road so far has perhaps been longer and more meandering than necessary, but the one thing it has not been is uninteresting or lacking in color.
Letting Creativity be My Roadmap
I’m the painter flinging paint on a canvas without regard for where it lands, or whether the colors play well together. I’d make the meticulous painter of still lifes and portraits crazy, so it’s best we don’t share a studio. Though I suspect we could learn something from each others’ techniques if we could put aside our frustration at the methods used, and focus on the end result.
I fling my goals on the screen, on pages in my notebooks, sticky notes on my bookshelves and computer monitors. Occasionally I take one down and fill in some of the details; paint a clearer picture. The notes help me recognize those details when they swim into view, and allow me to capture them before they move on to a more receptive target.
The goals I’ve listed above omit a lot of important details and hundreds of decisions I’ll need to make when the time comes. The spaces between the goals and the plans wait to be filled with all the lessons I’ll get to experience between here and there so those decisions and details will be informed and can occur naturally without undue stress and strain.
Choosing to be Uncomfortable isn’t for Everyone
Does this seem like it leaves too much to chance? Do you cringe at setting off on a journey 
without mapping out a clear route with all stops for gas, food, and rest clearly marked? By all means, do it your way without a lot of room for surprises or detours. That’s what makes you comfortable, and it works for a lot of people.
In a lot of ways, I choose to be uncomfortable. It’s where I’ve gotten my best ideas, and made some of my wildest, most spine tingling choices. Sure, there are times it feels like I’m clinging to my sanity and stability for dear life. The rush I get when I reach the other side of the chasm with a few bruises and scars, but ultimately, a successful ride is unparalleled. I can live with uncertainty for awhile; ride a white-knuckler kind of life. The rewards to be gained are greater for a willingness to risk diving head first into the unknown. But it’s not for everyone.
Choose your poison well as we embark on a brand spanking new decade. Plan what you must, risk what you can, and allow for a little discomfort. As the saying goes “Life is what happens outside your comfort zone.” I waved good-bye to mine, at least as far as my career is concerned several years ago, and though there have been some rough patches, I haven’t a single regret. I’m looking forward to the surprises and colors this year has in store for me.
About the Author
Sheri Conaway is a Holistic Ghostwriter, and an advocate for cats and mental health. Sheri 
believes in the Laws of Attraction, but only if you are a participant rather than just an observer. Her mission is to Make Vulnerable Beautiful and help entrepreneurs touch the souls of their readers and clients so they can increase their impact and their income. If you’d like to have her write for you, please visit her Hire Me page for more information. You can also find her on Facebook Sheri Levenstein-Conaway Author. And check out her new group, Putting Your Whole Heart Forward.
Be sure to watch this space for news of the upcoming releases of ” Rebuilding After Suicide” and “Sasha’s Journey”.
