Careful What You Wish For (Er, Set Goals For)

...Or, what to do when you, gasp, reach your goal(s).

You've used Erica's methods for setting up your goals. You're going to diligently monitor your progress and work harder than ever before. You've written a masterpiece and it's been vetted by CPs, contests, beta readers, etc. and you know you have a winner. Now what?

Mr. Burke told me an excellent story that perfectly illustrates the pitfalls of achieving your goals. Yes, there can be pitfalls...such as never doing anything on that project again. Mr. Burke plays guitar and has since we were in college. Over the years he has played in a few bands. They'd get together, plan a gig, and then practice a lot for that specific gig. Had lots of fun, put a lot of time into it, played a really fun show. Band over. They never saw past what they would do after the show.

Another good example is the movie The Full Monty. I love that movie (garden gnomes!), but I always wanted to know what happened after the show. Did they do another strip show? How'd the main character continue to make money to avoid being a deadbeat, albeit loving, dad? I'd like to think they became this famous UK male nude revue, but somehow I doubt those blokes planned past that big show.

So what do you do after you write the first draft? After you get an agent? After you, gasp, sell a book? After you celebrate (and you must celebrate), you get back on the goal wagon and set more. Maven Lacey wrote an excellent post on her blog that talked a bit about setting new goals when you achieve the ones you're working toward. She said:

"I recently heard someone theorize that a lot of people set the wrong long-term goals or forget to change their goals once they reach them. They do make goals, which is great, but between poor planning or stagnant execution, they forget to go for the follow-through.

Here’s how it works. He said our brains think up ways to get to our goals and then our brains stop thinking. So, for example, if my goal were: Write a Book, then when I’m done writing the book my brain would stop finding ways/time/excuses for me to write the book."

That is so, so true. This is why revisiting goals is so important. Make sure you are always on top of where you are, where you're going, and where you want to be. And remember that those things are bound to change as life happens, and that's okay. One of the goals I set in January was to revise and submit my first ms to agents and/or editors. I revised the hell out of the poor thing and, because I loved it so much, ultimately decided to set it free. I obviously didn't plan for it to be the start of a Magical Underbed Mulch Pile, but there it is. And you know, I even celebrated that achievement.

What goals have you achieved? How did you celebrate? What new goals did you set? How do you keep your goals current so that your brain is always working forward?