Planning, Goals, Progress and Coffee

Flowers In Blue by Claudia H. Blanton

If you were coming over for coffee, I would greet you with a hug and some chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven. It has been a while since I posted on this blog, but I have been pretty busy. The fact that my computer has a nasty virus did not help either.

December is usually my busiest month, not only do both of my children have birthdays, and of course, there are the holidays, but it is the time where business picks up, and also the time to plan for the next year.

Which is exactly what I am working on this weekend: Goal and Action Plan for 2016.

I don’t believe in New Years resolutions. Of course, they can be beneficial, but why wait until a particular time to make a change? Yet I do plan the year, but not in a resolution kind of way.

There are overall goals to work out – that has to be the first step, never forgetting that there has to be a why, a reason behind each goal, otherwise, I am fully aware that I will not follow through on it.

Willpower can carry you far, reasons will carry you further.

Then there are the monthly goals – smaller steps that together build the picture of a successful year. Those are flexible, meaning, I can adjust those goals throughout the year to fit the progress I am actually making. The trick is to set these goals high, but not so high that they are not attainable. Otherwise,  the frustration of not reaching them will keep me from going further.

Next are tangible action steps. I ask myself, what do I need to learn to make this happen? How much time am I willing to invest into this goal? What do I need to do to see progress? Those answers will be based on the overall goal and the monthly  goals.

This leaves me with a framework for the entire year.

Another Bright Day By Claudia H. Blanton

What I am questioning this year is about how public I should make these goals, and when. I have seen many bloggers and marketing experts, who put all of their goals and their achievements out there – that is wonderful, as it motivates me. But being an artist first, a creative, who might not see monetary results in such a profound way every month – while other months soar – I am not sure, I am going to do that yet. What do you think? How public do you make your goals?

If you were here with me, I would tell you that another year end practice I enjoy and intend to employ this year:

Expressing my thanks to those who inspired me.

Now, some of these people – some of whom are famous, some are very successful might never respond to my email, Facebook message or tweet, but some might (hey, I have had Brendan Brazer, the creator of Vega, and the author of Thrive, acknowledge my tweet the other day, where I was praising his mission, products and words), but that is not the point. It does not matter how successful you are, I am sure that it can not be a bad thing to hear something positive from someone who learned from you, or was inspired by you. Spreading a little kindness through expressing gratitude at the end of the year – and throughout the year benefits the receiver as much as the giver. It simply feels good all around.

So these are the questions I have for you this week:

Do you plan your year? Do you make resolutions? If you do, what steps do you take to allow yourself a better chance of success? And, how public do you make these goals and plans?

I am looking forward to hearing from you!

I hope you enjoyed the cookies. I enjoyed your company as always

Much love

Claudia

 

 

This blog post is a part of the following blog hops

Celebrate The Small Things

Weekend Coffee Share

Thankful Thursdays

Thankful Thursdays 2

No Rules Weekend

 

Disclaimer: The above blog post contains affiliate links.

 

Darkness – A Haiku

sometimes I pretend

dare to see happiness where

only pain prevails

Copyright Claudia H. Blanton 2015

The above image “Stars Can’t Shine Without Darkness” is by a talented artist named “SoaringAnchor” and is available on RedBubble.

Progress – More Than A Haiku

 

Progress 

 

feels like standing still
yet I am fast enough to
arrive in due time

Sometimes it feels like there is no progress toward our goals, no matter how many actions we take. We wrote a few pages only to find out that we have to revise them all, from the ground up. Or worse, the entire day’s work had to be re-written. Those moments can bring you to the point of wanting to give up, yet we press on.

If we do not, if we allow this moment of defeat, the moment of what feels like a complete stand-still to actually bring us to a complete stop, we will never experience the truth of how close we were to succeed. Success is at the other end of those moments, the moments that feel motionless, and frustrating. We, as writers and artist need to remember that failures and temporary setbacks are not wasted time, they are still motion forward, even if only in lesson and experience. And we are indeed making progress, and it might be faster than we think.

 

The above poster is available on Zazzle. Please support independent artists, thank you!

NEW: Free 5-Piece “Cue in the Color” Beauty Gift when you Join Julep

It’s nearly May and school is almost out – that means summer is just around the corner! Get in the mood for sunshine with this bright Cue in the Color 5-Piece Beauty Gift ($78 value) which is FREE when you join Julep and pay for your first month ($24.99). When you join Julep, you’ll get a box of gorgeous and good-for-you beauty, nail, or skin care products delivered to your door every month. Julep offers the only full-size and fully-customizable beauty box out there, so you get what you want every month!

To redeem your Cue in the Color 5-Piece Beauty Gift, add the gift to cart and use code COLORLOVE at checkout. Then on May 20th, you’ll log into Julep to select the products to include in your first beauty box.

Your free beauty gift includes:

 

• One nectar pink lip crayon
• One fuchsia crème polish
• One mint crème polish
• One electric violet polish
• One electric teal eye pencil

Isn’t that awesome!

Be fierce and beautiful!

Claudia

 

 

 

Progress – A Daily Prompt Post

Today’s Prompt is:

When you look back at your blog on January 2, 2015, what would you like to see?

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/01/02/daily-prompt-progress/

Oh, that is something I have actually been contemplating – progress – how to move forward and create the end results I have been working so hard on.

Next year, I will have a link to my published trilogy on the blog, as well as my Short Story collection (it already has a title “How To Train A Cat And Other Impossibilities”). I will have gained so many beautiful friends from this blog roll – some of which I have already met, and we meet on each others blogs on a regular basis. It will be filled with useful information, entertaining stories, laughter and my favorites, dark fantasy and horror.

It will be a place to find a quick escape via my flash fiction. It will be uplifting at times, spiked with the occasional motivation, because that is who I am.

It will be a place where the worries of your day won’t find you, and where a hug and a virtual cup of coffee is available to everyone who wants and needs it.

That to me would be progress!