7 Steps to Artistic Goal Setting in 2018
Happy 2018! It's the time of year when it seems like everyone is making New Year's resolutions, claiming their word for the year, or declaring what they will "manifest" this year. For an artist, it seems like the goal is always the same; spend more time in the studio.
It's a great goal to have, to make more time for creativity, however, I don't think I've ever met an artist would say, "You know, I have all the painting time I need." Every artist wants more time!
One problem with this goal is that it is too vague. How will you know if you're succeeding if no artist has ever achieved enough time in the studio?
If you're looking to make NEW goals for 2018, I think the best place to start is by looking back. It's so easy to start a new year with a feeling of needing to do better, but that feeling brings with a sense of discontent or inadequacy. Are you sure 2017 wasn't good enough? I don't want to start a new year with not-enoughness; instead I want to build on what I accomplished in 2017.
This week I'm crossing these items off my to-do list:
reading back through my 2017 newsletters and blog posts
scrolling through photo files and painting files
celebrating the best things I did in 2017
remembering the surprise achievements and blessings
reflecting on how I grew as an artist and individual in the past 12 months
counting the new friends I made
thanking people for their impact on my life last year
Doing these things will fill my bucket so that when I look ahead to my goals for 2018, I can do so from a positive place, starting with an attitude of abundance and making goals that build on foundations already established, instead of trying to unnecessarily reinvent my life.
Tomorrow I'll be sharing a list of do-able resolutions for artists, achievable goals you can set that will have you excited to grow artistically in the year ahead.