I read a bit this morning in a book which I do plan to discuss a bit here. I haven’t yet read enough to discuss it intelligently, but it did spark a thought with me about goal setting. No, that’s not the topic of the book, it was just a side note that sparked with me. I’ve noticed (and mentioned) before that if I set goals I tend to reach them, and that if I don’t set them then I don’t. Shocking, right? Or not, LOL. Seems like I’d learn eventually, but no. In this regard, I am like the starlets in and out of drug rehab–I think I have it together, so I quit doing what I know I should.

The thing about goal setting is that it helps keep you focused. And for me, they need to be written down. Even if I make a mental list, it’s not as effective as if I sit here and type them out. Maybe it’s the sharing that motivates me—if you come back and ask, I want to be able to say, “yes, I did that.” And also, I need to set a goal in each area, because if I don’t, then something slips. You’ve heard about Nero fiddling while Rome burned? I’ve come to think that maybe it wasn’t because he didn’t care. Maybe he just didn’t see it because he was so focused on hitting the notes correctly.

See, goals don’t have to be large. They are like small steps, each one is forward motion toward a larger goal, a big picture. When I set the goal of doing 2 loads of laundry, the goal really isn’t washing the clothes. The real goal is a smooth rotation of laundry in and out of the hamper, so that the family has a never ending supply of clean underroos. There are 9 of us living here–that’s a lot of drawers, ya’ll. I guess that makes 2 loads of laundry per day pretty high on the goal setting scale, huh? Luckily for me, I have one in the washer already. Luckily for you, I have decided that this particular post is long enough, and I’ll continue my thoughts in another segment, either later today or tomorrow.

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