She, Judy Moody, would make her own list. Her very own kick-the-bucket list of all the stuff she wanted to do before she . . .went to fourth grade!
from Judy Moody and the Bucket List
written by Megan McDonald
illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Candlewick Press, 2016
(accessed on Libby 3/20/26)
Mom used to tell me “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Intending to do a thing is not going to make it happen. Neither is wishing. Neither is wanting, no matter how badly. Neither is making a list, even when most of it gets crossed off, checked off, or struck through. She taught me the importance of follow through.
In order for an intention to come to fruition, I needed to turn it into a goal. It needed to be stated clearly. It needed a time frame. It needed to be achievable. It needed to have a way to measure success on the way to completion.
SMART is a handy goal-making acronym.
To make a SMART goal make sure it is
Specific: what exactly will reaching your goal look like?
Measurable: uses a form of numerics (lose/gain X # of pounds, say)
Achievable: it may require gaining some new skills, but this step needs to
be something you know you can really, truly do.
Realistic: it must be able to exist in the world we really, truly live in. It
. must be do-able.
Time-bound: it needs a deadline. For real.
For more detail, click this page from Boston University.
Having a goal is not the same as having the motivation to reach it, though.
Usually, for me anyway, the hardest part of reaching a goal is taking the first step. That’s where motivation comes in.
According to VeryWellMind.com, motivation is the driving force behind our actions. It’s the “why,” the reason we do what we do. Motivation is what gets us to act in ways that help us reach our goals.
Psychologists like to describe two different categories of motivation.
Extrinsic motivation helps us get started. They’re tangible rewards, stickers or chocolate or time at the library. I’ve been scheduling time to write with a friend of mine for at least an hour and a half per week for the last about five years. I depend on that promise to her to motivate me to sit down and work.
Intrinsic motivation is the habit I’ve formed by continually making that conscious choice. I keep “showing up” because I like to feel productive, I like to figure out what I’m thinking, and I like to keep my promise to my writing partner. Also, with enough practice and persistence, I might produce something someone thinks is worthy of publishing.
I learned long ago that an hour and a half once a week is not enough to reach my goal of becoming a published author.
James Clear is a motivational speaker and writer. He has a best selling book and writes a newsletter called 3-2-1. He says staying motivated comes down to creating and working a 3-step system.
Step 1 has to be so easy that you can’t say no. Clear’s writing routine starts with a glass of water. Easy-peasy.
Step 2 needs to help you move toward the end goal, literally. Physical movement puts you on the path (so to speak) toward your goal. I put on my writing sweater, pour my coffee, and open my computer.
Step 3 involves doing the same steps (1 and 2) consistently. Every single time. It sets up a reminder and puts your goal in the conscious part of your brain.
Put another way, three elements are needed to get motivated and stay motivated..
Activation is the first step. Whether it’s signing up for a course or walking into a Weight Watcher’s meeting, the first step, contrary to James Clear’s formula, is hard.
Persistence is pushing through even when the weather is bad, the homework is hard, or I don’t want the birthday cake I ate to show up on the scale. Persistence is also hard.
Intensity is the amount of focus, strength of desire, and energy (physical, emotional, and mental) we put toward reaching our goal.
If any one of those three is missing, we risk not meeting our goal.
A tip I heard last weekend came from a guest teacher in a writing class I’m taking. She said to keep herself from getting discouraged, when an agent or editor passed on her work, she decided to count her rejections. Without calling it that, she used the SMART formula.
She will collect 100 rejections by the end of the year. Wow! The whole framework of rejections flipped from something that blew the wind out of her sails to a trajectory that, step by step, moved her closer to her goal.
I liked the idea so much that I decided to try it for myself. I also will collect 100 rejections by the end of the year. That means I have to submit my work to agents that might like it enough to want to represent me. Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Realistic. Time-bound.
So far I have one rejection (It was very polite) and four active submissions.
Maybe it won’t take 99 more to find representation. I’ll update you all periodically.
I’m reading A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka by Lev Golinkin (Anchor/Knopf Doubleday Publishing group, 2014), an accessible and compelling memoir that begins at the end of the Cold War. Lev is nine-years-old when he crosses the Soviet border with his family in 1989. His is a story of escape and survival as he learns the power of hatred in his search for belonging. Recommended.
--Be curious! (and focused)
from Judy Moody and the Bucket List
written by Megan McDonald
illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds
Candlewick Press, 2016
(accessed on Libby 3/20/26)
Mom used to tell me “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Intending to do a thing is not going to make it happen. Neither is wishing. Neither is wanting, no matter how badly. Neither is making a list, even when most of it gets crossed off, checked off, or struck through. She taught me the importance of follow through.
In order for an intention to come to fruition, I needed to turn it into a goal. It needed to be stated clearly. It needed a time frame. It needed to be achievable. It needed to have a way to measure success on the way to completion.
SMART is a handy goal-making acronym.
To make a SMART goal make sure it is
Specific: what exactly will reaching your goal look like?
Measurable: uses a form of numerics (lose/gain X # of pounds, say)
Achievable: it may require gaining some new skills, but this step needs to
be something you know you can really, truly do.
Realistic: it must be able to exist in the world we really, truly live in. It
. must be do-able.
Time-bound: it needs a deadline. For real.
For more detail, click this page from Boston University.
Having a goal is not the same as having the motivation to reach it, though.
Usually, for me anyway, the hardest part of reaching a goal is taking the first step. That’s where motivation comes in.
According to VeryWellMind.com, motivation is the driving force behind our actions. It’s the “why,” the reason we do what we do. Motivation is what gets us to act in ways that help us reach our goals.
Psychologists like to describe two different categories of motivation.
Extrinsic motivation helps us get started. They’re tangible rewards, stickers or chocolate or time at the library. I’ve been scheduling time to write with a friend of mine for at least an hour and a half per week for the last about five years. I depend on that promise to her to motivate me to sit down and work.
Intrinsic motivation is the habit I’ve formed by continually making that conscious choice. I keep “showing up” because I like to feel productive, I like to figure out what I’m thinking, and I like to keep my promise to my writing partner. Also, with enough practice and persistence, I might produce something someone thinks is worthy of publishing.
I learned long ago that an hour and a half once a week is not enough to reach my goal of becoming a published author.
James Clear is a motivational speaker and writer. He has a best selling book and writes a newsletter called 3-2-1. He says staying motivated comes down to creating and working a 3-step system.
Step 1 has to be so easy that you can’t say no. Clear’s writing routine starts with a glass of water. Easy-peasy.
Step 2 needs to help you move toward the end goal, literally. Physical movement puts you on the path (so to speak) toward your goal. I put on my writing sweater, pour my coffee, and open my computer.
Step 3 involves doing the same steps (1 and 2) consistently. Every single time. It sets up a reminder and puts your goal in the conscious part of your brain.
Put another way, three elements are needed to get motivated and stay motivated..
Activation is the first step. Whether it’s signing up for a course or walking into a Weight Watcher’s meeting, the first step, contrary to James Clear’s formula, is hard.
Persistence is pushing through even when the weather is bad, the homework is hard, or I don’t want the birthday cake I ate to show up on the scale. Persistence is also hard.
Intensity is the amount of focus, strength of desire, and energy (physical, emotional, and mental) we put toward reaching our goal.
If any one of those three is missing, we risk not meeting our goal.
A tip I heard last weekend came from a guest teacher in a writing class I’m taking. She said to keep herself from getting discouraged, when an agent or editor passed on her work, she decided to count her rejections. Without calling it that, she used the SMART formula.
She will collect 100 rejections by the end of the year. Wow! The whole framework of rejections flipped from something that blew the wind out of her sails to a trajectory that, step by step, moved her closer to her goal.
I liked the idea so much that I decided to try it for myself. I also will collect 100 rejections by the end of the year. That means I have to submit my work to agents that might like it enough to want to represent me. Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Realistic. Time-bound.
So far I have one rejection (It was very polite) and four active submissions.
Maybe it won’t take 99 more to find representation. I’ll update you all periodically.
I’m reading A Backpack, a Bear, and Eight Crates of Vodka by Lev Golinkin (Anchor/Knopf Doubleday Publishing group, 2014), an accessible and compelling memoir that begins at the end of the Cold War. Lev is nine-years-old when he crosses the Soviet border with his family in 1989. His is a story of escape and survival as he learns the power of hatred in his search for belonging. Recommended.
--Be curious! (and focused)
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