Goals

Last night, I got fed up with how I've been going about things. I've been waking up early to take my brother to school, crashing back into my bed and sleeping until noon, waking up and taking a shower, searching the blogs I read, surfing the net for a while, watching some TV, wasting the day doing basically nothing, going to get my brother in the afternoon, coming back home to waste more time, going to work in the evenings, coming home and staying up until 2 in the morning doing basically nothing but surfing the 'net and watching TV. It's been making me more exhausted than I can stand, so last night I made up my mind. Instead of complaining that I don't have very good self-discipline, I'm going to do something about it.
Last night, after I got home from work, I took a shower and went straight to bed...well as straight to bed as I could get. My brother was using my computer for a school project so I had to wait on him. I wound up in bed at 11, an hour later than I wanted to be, but that couldn't be helped. Then I woke up at 7:00, about 30 minutes late, but better than I have been, and taking my brother to school. I then came home, checked the news to see what's happened locally and to the country as of late, checked on the blogs I like to read, and then I wrote from 9:30 until 12:10. I got 2,222 words. I would have gotten more, but I had three people call me in the middle of my writing, I had to take some clothes out of the washer and put them into the dryer, and feed the dogs.
All in all, I think my goals have been met pretty well. I can't help the distractions, much as they annoyed me, but I can get over the distractions and try my best to reach my goal.
That's the thing. In life and in our writing, we need goals so that we can continually improve ourselves. My goal for writing for the day was 2000 words. I met that goal. My goal for my schedule is to be in bed by 10:00 on the nights I can help it, and be up at 6:30 every morning. My goal for the year is to finish this novel before I go to college. Will I make it? I don't know. I don't have to worry, though, because goals are not set in stone. Goals are not contracts that you are bound to and if you break them they repossess your poodle, your toothbrush and your favorite pair of purple socks. Goals are to drive you, make you work for something harder, to improve yourself, but they're not binding. They can be changed and shaped as you go along.
Remember in your writing to set big goals, because those are what you dream for--those are the top of the ladder, but remember to also set small goals, because those are steps that will help you get there. And remember to always have faith.