Goal Setting and Creativity
2013: I’m on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain. It’s late Winter, maybe Spring, but it doesn’t matter because every day is the same bleak gray. A plastic CVS bag is slipped around my wrist, its contents—a new notebook and a packet of pens—bump against my thigh with each step. I’ve been diligently using these supplies for years to schedule my work sessions and journal my progress, and even though I’ve met my goals—finished my first manuscript, signed with an agent—I’m still not where I want to be. I feel like I’m treading water. I’m afraid I’m not a real writer. I’m so frustrated, I could cry. I call my mom. She listens to me vent, then tells me, “Remember, there are astronauts who’ve never been to space—and they are just as real as the astronauts who walked on the moon.”
Most goal setting strategies focus on outcome: a distinct finish line to serve as a Pass/Fail marker. But I think creativity is more nuanced than conventional goals, often with outcomes beyond our control.
We can write a manuscript, but not get an offer from an agent.
We can sign with an agent, but not acquire a publishing deal.
A book can get published, but might not sell.
A book might sell, but not become a bestseller.
So how do we set goals to advance our art and creative ambitions when we can’t control the results?
The manuscript I was working on when I made that phonecall to my mom back in 2013 had hit the benchmark goals I set, but didn’t clear the hurdle to publication. However, the process helped me improve my craft, learn about the publishing industry, and start building an author platform. It helped me understand the importance of setting an intention for a project.
While a goal focuses on the outcome, an intention focuses on the experience. I try to approach my projects with a balance of both. Here are some of the questions I ask as I set an intention:
Is there an element of craft you are hoping to learn?
Is there a skill you need that would help with the production or publication of your project?
Are there any opportunities to connect with other writers or readers through the process?
An open-ended intention allows you to create with a hypothesis, a reminder that there will be discoveries and lessons along the way. An intention can help us focus on building a skillset, rather than judging our skills on the success or failure of a single project. It can help you define success on your own terms, and is achievable regardless of whether or not a final goal is completed.