Goals . . . We Have Goals

It is the dawn of a new year, even a new decade, and people are talking about goals. I guess “resolutions” are not mentioned any more, because they last until about January 15th and then are forgotten. “Goal” seems to be a better word, something to strive for over a longer period of time.

Of course, one of my yearly goals is to eat better and to lose weight. I have had varying levels of success with that one over the years, and this year is no different, considering all of the leftover holiday goodies in my kitchen cabinet. I’m doing okay right now, but the chocolate is calling my name.

Many of my friends are switching the focus to writing goals for the year. If I have seen one post on social media about writing goals, I have seen 20. Everyone is setting their goals, making their lists and checking them twice. (Yes, the Christmas stuff is still on my mind.)

What’s my writing goal for the year? I have put some thought into it, and here it is, an exclusive debut right here on A3. My writing goal for 2020 is . . . to write.

There, I said it.

It may seem overly simple, but, for me, just to put the rear in the chair and to write is what I need to do. Sure, it’s good to have goals of words per day or week, but I need to remind myself to write everyday, to establish the routine of regularly putting words on the page. It seems simple, but I work better with simple.

So avoid the chocolate and get that bottom in the chair. Let’s write!

Carlton Hughes wears many hats. By day, he’s a professor of communication at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College. On Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, he does object lessons and songs with motions as Children’s Pastor of Lynch Church of God. In his “spare time,” he is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications, including Chicken Soup for the Soul and several devotional books from Worthy Publishing—Let the Earth Rejoice, Just Breathe, So God Made a Dog, and the soon-to-be-released Everyday Grace for Men. Carlton and his wife Kathy have two college-age sons, Noah and Ethan. He is on the planning committee for Kentucky Christian Writers Conference and is a year-round volunteer for Operation Christmas child.