Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Thinking about the future...

I'm writing this on Tuesday, as my husband and I drive home from a funeral in another state.  Rosie was fun-loving woman who dearly loved to dance and loved to be with people.  She was in her eighties, though, and her health had irrevocably declined over the past few months. We like to think that she is now happy and whole, freed of her pain and infirmities, and dancing up a storm with her husband in heaven.  


The events of the past few days have set me to thinking about my own priorities--the ones that remain important, and the ones I need to change.  Here are just a few:


1.  You never know what the future will hold.  I want to spend all the time I can with our young grandkids and build happy memories with them for decades to come.

2.  I think about all of the dawdling and procrastinating that can so easily take over a day, wasting precious hours and days that can never be reclaimed.  No more!  I've got a long list of both traditionally published and indie books I want to write, and I need to buckle down.

3.  Dealing with an estate four years ago took our family many months. It's time to start weeding out my own "treasures" and stop accumulating more, so I don't leave such a big task to others someday. I'm  starting with my disaster of an office!  Is anyone here a "saver" like me?

4.   Years ago, I regularly set up monthly, yearly and long-term writing goals, and it's interesting to look back now and see how many of them--with hard work and perseverance--actually came true.  I need to start setting specific goals again.


What are your goals?  Do you have a bucket list?  What are some of things you want to do (or change) in the coming years?

Wishing you all the best,
Roxanne Rustand
www.roxannerustand.com

14 comments:

  1. This was a timely post for me - thank you Roxanne! I was just telling myself that I really should write down my goals for the next few months and set up some sort of accountability for myself to make sure I meet them. What do I want for this year? To write more books, spend more one-on-one time with the kids and go to sleep earlier. Now why do those goals seem mutually exclusive? ;)

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    1. LOL. Isn't that the truth?! There just isn't enough time. During my first 20-25 books I had at least one child still at home, a day job, and got around four hours of sleep a night when on deadline. Now research shows just how devastating lack of adequate sleep is for the body, and I wonder just how much damage I did!

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  2. I'm so sorry for your loss, Roxanne. My husband's illness and death left me with similar lessons. I've recently fallen back into a type of procrastination though, and I appreciate the nudge to get moving again. I am going to get my goals listed and prioritized. Thank you. :)

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    1. I am so, so sorry about the loss of your husband. I can't imagine how tough that has been for you. Blessings to you and your family.

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  3. This is exactly what I've been thinking, Roxanne. My parents passed away more than a decade ago and I've still got way too much of their possessions, as well as too many of my own. Time to clear out, set goals, focus on writing, and enjoy the grandkids. I'm sorry for the loss you and your family have suffered, but it sounds like you're making it into something positive.

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    1. It's so hard for me to think of letting go of anything that came from my parent's home, or that is associated with raising our three kids. Someday I will have to do it, though, if we eventually have to move away from our high maintenance acreage in the country and downsize. For now, I'm just trying to think about thinning out all we have of our own stuff. Its mind boggling. :)

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  4. Sorry for your loss, Rox. I have my writing goals written on a white board above my desk. But those personal goals? They need their own white board. Thanks for the reminder.

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  5. So very sorry for your loss, Roxanne. Thank you for sharing some very important and timely reminders. I like to use SMART goals because they are so specific and make me accountable. I do need to focus on including personal goals along with professional, though.

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    1. Thank you, Shanna. What are SMART goals? Is this a system that breaks the process into steps?

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  6. You hit me right where I'm living. We just cleaned out our FL storage unit and drove a 16' Penske truck to AZ. Now we are weeding through everything to find a place for it or get rid of it. Letting go of stuff can sometimes be hard.

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    1. That sounds like quite a job! But how wonderful to do it now, instead of decades later, when it would be so much harder to find the energy. At least, that it what I am telling myself! :)

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  7. I read you post and wondered to myself what I would pass on to my sons after I'm gone. The first thing on my so called bucket list was to show them that their dreams can be so much more than just memories from a good nights sleep or a fleeting thought during an afternoon. I recently had my first book published. It was always my dream to write a story and share it with the world. Yet it is so much more than that. I showed my sons what it was to commit to a dream, to press on through doubts, setbacks, and rejections. More importantly, each word was written from my thoughts and my heart. This is what I leave for them, a piece of my soul. At least to me that is far more valuable than a watch or a favorite shirt or anything else such as that.

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    1. What a lovely comment, Jeff. Your sons are truly blessed to have a dad like you. Congratulations on your first book--and wishing you every success in the future!

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