Happy February: Reaching Your Goals and Setting New Challenges

How's that goal-setting working out for you so far? Seems like 2016 barely ended and January hit the ground running. I wasn't in that marathon and didn't hit the ground very hard when it came to blogging. Rather than give up, though, I decided it was time to rev up my motor and get kicking.

 

February is NOT too late to set goals, or to begin working toward the goals you set in December.



FIREWORKS OVER MAGIC ISLAND IN HONOLULU
Celebrating Our Accomplishments of 2016
and looking forward to all that 2017 has to offer!

Two goals on my list for 2016 were to post thoughts about the 70 poems in my book of linked poetry; and to read and review 71 books. As New Years Eve approached, I could breath easier, knowing those two goals were met. That meant less guilt for me when transferring other goals to 2017.

 

You can access my Goodreads Reading Challenge 2016 page here:

https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/show/3890-2016-reading-challenge

My goal for 2017 is to read and review 72 books, in a wider variety of genres than ever before!

Facing Forward

 

There wasn't much time to celebrate reaching the end of the above goals, however. November 1st marked the beginning of NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writers Month. If you haven't participated in this annual ritual yet, check out what all the shouting is about and consider setting it as a goal for November, 2017. Here's the link:

 https://nanowrimo.org/sign_in



 

Not everyone sets goals at the start of each new year. Some have routines that keep them soaring toward their lifetime goals without hesitation. Others accomplish tasks and projects in routine fashion, gliding over bumps in the road and sidestepping obstacles with ease. My most heartfelt congratulations to you. I really, really need to watch more TED talks!

 

To everyone:

Happy FEBRUARY of this New Year

ALOHA

and

Best of Success in 2017

  

 

Happy New Year #IWSG Measuring Success in 2017

 

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

 

The awesome co-hosts for the January 4 posting of the IWSG will be

Eva @ Lillicasplace, Crystal Collier, Sheena-kay Graham,

Chemist Ken, LG Keltner, and Heather Gardner!

 

January 4 Question: What writing rule do you wish you’d never heard?

My answer to this question is backwards: I love the advise to learn the rules so you know which ones you want to break and then do so with professionalism.

 

 

Happy New Year, 2017, everyone.

 

Each year, it is tradition for me to compile a list of goals to take me through the upcoming twelve months. Goals concerning my writing projects lead the way, with reading goals close behind. Some goals appear year after year, not because they failed to make the grade the previous year but because they are so important that they bear repeating. Healthy lifestyle goals top this chart. Whether I reach or exceed a goal, my satisfaction is the same. Only when I totally miss a target, do I feel any measure of disappointment.

For 2017, I've set the bar rather high as I aim at more successfully marketing my published novels. I fear neither success nor failure. My concern is about setting a goal to accomplish something that is a questionable measure of success or failure: the sale of a specific number of books.

How do you measure your success as a writer?

 

 

 

A NEW PERSPECTIVE for 2016

Each New Year, resolutions float around like orphan plastic bags blowing in the wind. Some catch a down-wind and crash to earth. Others sail away to places unknown, never to be heard from again. A few resolutions stick close, tempting and pestering their maker. With luck, a strong trade wind will pick up and carry them away – very soon. One or two resolutions are usually worth keeping, though. Those should be nurtured, pampered, molded...well, you get the idea. 



Nana I Ke Kumu statue on grounds of Honolulu Hale

 

One of my brand new resolutions - I often carry over old ones from year to year - is to gain a new perspective on life. Not only in the arena of personal affairs, but a new awareness in all aspects of my life. The idea itself isn’t new. So I also wanted to develop a new perspective on gaining a new perspective! 

Hopefully my idea will be of benefit to others, also. 

 

'Iolani Palace

 

On December 20, 2015, I took the kama‘aina (local) free tour of ‘Iolani Palace in downtown Honolulu. (Regardless the cost, it is well worth your time to see the beautiful architecture and period furniture on display in the palace, and to hear the history behind the unique monarchy of Hawai‘i.) When the tour ended, I spent some time in the palace basement where a display of 19^th century photographs shares space with the royal kitchen . . . and water closets of the era. 

 

façade of Kawaiaha'o Church

After viewing the Honolulu Hale’s annual wreath competition and the grounds around Kawaiaha‘o Church, I rested on a bench facing the Nana I Ke Kumu statue. That’s when the thought surfaced about how to develop a new perspective on gaining a new perspective. I could photograph sights I’ve looked at for decades here in the Islands, but in a way that gave me a new perspective on what I was actually seeing. 

detail of Nani I Ke Kumu

The photographs above reveal how I’ve always looked at these sights. When I took pictures from different angles, different perspectives, I discovered a whole new world of thought and purpose. In the weeks and months to come, I plan to photograph more sights with this idea in mind. My goal is to become more aware of my surroundings and to live life more fully. 

Again, my idea isn’t unique. For me, though, the concept is refreshing. It is a way to more fully appreciate my world of today. I will no longer look to the future for what might one day be; or even less productive: look back and try to figure ways to change what once was. I will begin to appreciate what is right before my eyes, truly seeing it . . . from a new perspective. 

May we all learn to live today, today;

and enjoy life:

from a new perspective. 

Hau‘oli Makahiki Hou - Happy New Year