It’s easy to say, “I want to do that.” Follow through can be hard, though. Adversities pop up and remind me I can’t pull off all the things I want. Adversities like work, family, health, and time. There’s plenty of stuff I want to do. I want to learn how to play the drums. I want to go to Bora Bora, and travel the Blue Danube to look at old castles on craggy cliffs. I want to learn to paint, and how to make stained glass, and I want to know more than a handful of phrases in German. And I want to write. Above all else, I want to write.
I’m lucky that I know the thing I want more than anything else, but even I had to make tough choices. I can learn to write, or I can learn to paint. Not both. Not right now. I can’t give the right attention to drum lessons when there’s writing to do. Travel can’t compete. Nothing can. Not when one of the options is writing. So, I’ve chosen. I’ve chosen to stop calling my heart’s desire a dream, and start calling it a goal.
I know myself. There are requirements to keeping me engaged, even in my own interests. One requirement is plenty of projects that aren’t necessarily writing, but support my effort. I need to be updating the website and revising the newsletter and posting on Facebook and keeping up with industry news and researching scientific details. My brain despises being fed tasks one at a time and loves to plan and prioritize. Which is the next requirement. I like lists, I like plans, and I like calendars. Requirement three goes on that calendar, and it’s a long-term commitment of some kind. A story deadline. A contest entry deadline. Anything that keeps my eye on the horizon instead of my bellybutton.
The long-term commitment on my calendar now is the SuperStars Writing Conference being held in Colorado Springs next February. I’ve already registered and booked my hotel, so it’s definitely happening. I couldn’t be more excited or pleased with myself. I researched conferences, found one that meets my needs and looks like fun, and I’m doing it. My eye is set on 2022, and I have a lot to do to prepare. If things go the way I want, I’ll find my next exciting long-term goal while I’m there.
