Category: goals

creativity, future, goals

This Just In: Evaluating my goals at the end of January

Christa Avampato

Reflecting on JanuaryI set a goal to review my 2015 goals at the end of each month to check in and see how I’m doing. Here’s how I’m doing:

– I’m continuing to explore the Orlando market to see if it’s possible to build the kind of career I want to have here that’s rooted in content and product that builds a better world. While I’ve found some, it hasn’t been as much as I hoped so I’ll be spending a lot of time in February further evaluating my next steps.

– My writing, personally and professionally, is going well and I love every second of the time I spend on it.

– I’m starting to have more days when I hit 10,000 steps per day (my fitness goal) but not nearly enough days so I have to ramp that up. I am doing more weight training and exploring a variety of fitness routines, too.

– I’ve made a concerted effort to meet new people while also connecting with lots of friends far and near.

– I’ve started planning a few trips since I didn’t travel as much in 2014 as I would have liked.

– I’m reading more books, fiction and nonfiction, and loving it.

How are your 2015 goals going?

choices, commitment, future, goals

This Just In: Manage your future like a pool player

Christa Avampato
Set up your shot
Set up your shot

The planning process of any aspect of life can be frustrating. Preparation can sometimes feel like just something we have to do before we get on with our real work. It’s not. It is the work. When my patience with preparation is wearing thin, I think about playing pool. When you play pool, you keep your eyes focused on where you want the ball to go, not where it is. He or she has to line everything up correctly. The slightest adjustment can make a huge difference. The same is true in life.

Right now, you may be making small steps and lining up your circumstances for that moment when you are ready to strike. All this planning may cause you to feel a lack of progress because you don’t actually see anything happening. It might seem so slow that you want to give up. But like the pool player, you need to give yourself the best chance at making the best shot with the landscape you have. That takes planning and patience. Rest assured that all this planning, all these small adjustments will pay off. Play the long game.

books, creativity, goals, writing

Inspired: Finished the first draft of my first novel – Where the Light Enters

Christa Avampato
THE END
THE END

THE END. I just typed these two words on the (very, very, very) rough first draft of my first novel, Where the Light Enters. There will be many rounds of revisions ahead, but I’m excited to have this first pass done. I plan to revel in this feeling through the holidays and then pick it back up in January to begin the long process of rewriting. For now, I’m happy to say the story and the act of writing it changed me for the better. It gave me confidence and faith that with love we can do what we think is impossible. Thank you to so many of you who supported this journey. We’re just getting started!

goals, growth, learning

Inspired: Make growth your goal

Christa Avampato

From PinterestYour only job is to grow. From good and bad experiences. Triumphs and failures. Glorious surprises and grave disappointments. As long as you learn, no effort is ever wasted and in the end, you always come out ahead as a stronger, braver, wiser you.

art, goals, theatre

Inspired: Sing After Storms is Halfway to Opening Night

Christa Avampato

Yesterday Sing After Storms hit a huge milestone: we’ve now run every scene in the show, I’ve met with all of the production team members, and marketing materials are hitting the streets. A play is a vertical journey up a mountain and every once in a while you hit a plateau in the road so that you can rest and gather your thoughts and emotions for reflection. It’s a brief though necessary rest stop. We’ve got all the pieces; now it’s a matter of refining them and putting them together to tell a story that’s authentic, powerful, and memorable. I have no doubt—not one—that we will get there. Here’s another sneak peek at the work going on behind-the-scenes thanks to the abundantly talented photographer Marita La Monica and her trusty camera.

action, adventure, goals

Inspired: Your Path and Your Destination

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

Be stubborn about where you’re going and open about the paths you take to get there. There will be bumps, falls, scrapes, and bruises along the way. Those are not reasons to abandon the journey. They’re there to show you just how much the destination means to you. And when you look back on that long road, those mishaps will be the moments that taught you the most.

dreams, goals, sports

Inspired: Life is Like Pool; You Have to Look Where You Want to Go

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

When you play pool, you don’t look at the cue ball. You look at the ball you want to hit with an eye on where you want that ball to go, and plan your actions backward from there. The same is true for life. Begin at the ending and work your way back to where you are. Then you’ll know where to start so you can get where you ultimately want to go.

career, creativity, goals, work

Inspired: A Plan to Get The Career You Want

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

Now that the first quarter of 2014 is winding down, I am reflecting on and re-assessing my business plan for the year. I’ve found that it’s helpful to ask myself these questions and write out the answers to translate into action plans:

1.) What do I really want to do?
2.) What do I have that can help me do that?
3.) What do I need that will help me do that?
4.) How can I get what I need?
5.) How will I know when I’ve been successful?

I realize I have some heavy lifting and changing to do to answer these questions honestly and craft a road I’m proud to build and travel. It’s exciting to see it laid out in writing. It keeps me focused and persistent, the two attributes I find I need in spades these days. Do you regularly reflect on and reassess where you are on your projects, professional and personal? What questions are most helpful for you?

dreams, goals, work, writing

Beautiful: Write It Down

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

“There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving and that is your own self.” ~ Aldous Huxley

It is an act of strength to stay the course, to focus our energy and efforts keenly during times of feast and famine. There are distractions, temptations, and doubts that try to derail us. Don’t let them. Right down your goal as simply as you can. Don’t worry that it’s too big or too difficult or too unlikely. Write it down and post it. Everywhere. You can’t hit a target if you can’t see it.

adventure, goals

Leap: The Goal of Life

Christa Avampato

I love the sentiment behind this piece of art I found on Pinterest. It’s a mark of a life well and fully lived if at the end our journey our only thought is “WooHoo! What a ride!” That’s certainly the sentiment I’m hoping for.