New Year, New Goals: A Story Told in Ice

(Crosspost from See Jane Publish.)

My long holiday weekend got a little bit longer thanks to a lovely White Just-Missed-Christmas topped with an icing of, uh, ice. But since I was stuck at my computer, I figured there was no excuse not to sketch out my plans for the new year.

At first I wasn’t too excited about it…

Goal-setting is a little intimidating. I have to think ahead for a whole year?! It’s hard to see that far ahead, sometimes, and the path is slippery.

But ’tis the season for new year’s resolutions…

I know my big plans can only be achieved through drip-by-drip word counts and daily goals…

And so I start planning. At first it seems like a wild tangle, my brain is just a chaos of ideas and wishes and wannabes. These are my synapses on goal-setting:

But then the pieces start to come together and smooth out. Everything starts to move in the same direction. I can see a way forward through the wilderness of A. what I want to accomplish and B. what is possible. (Since I don’t have a stop-time machine.)

Eventually, my twelve-month to-do list starts to look — dare I say — rather impressive and stately…

I actually feel even inspired! I see potential brilliance hidden inside these small beginnings!

It’s early days, I know — very early days! — but I see the shape of what is to come.

With attention to my deadlines, I’ll be mowing down my goals!

If you have suggestions for launching with enthusiasm into the new year, please share in comments. And Happy New Year!