Recent research has found that many have problems with goals both setting and achieving. A key part in this issue is the relative inflexibility with which we view goals, they are seen as something set in solid footings for a future we have no control over. Another key issue with goals is the implied judgment associated with achieving or not achieving goals...we tend to define our success in relation to our goals. The problem with this approach is it also has a very damaging effect on our self esteem by over valuing success and discounting little successes and more importantly making us more and more risk averse which in the end limits our creativity.
Finally, goals by there very nature imply an end point, giving us unconscious permission to forget the process and move on to conquer the next mountain. The process is actually most important and not learning from the process reduces our ability to choose one path or direction over another.
There is a growing movement in the human potential/growth movement to replace goals with intention. While there may appear to be little difference between the two, looking a little deeper two concepts couldn't be more different. Where goals imply and end point intention implies process, and by its' nature takes change and adaptation into account. Focused intention, stays with us and it gives the ability to stay present. Intention also removes judgment from the picture leaving us able to change course as needed, instead of being seen as failure. Finally, intention gives us permission to evaluate actions and make changes based on those evaluations because failure is no longer an issue.
Today, our five artists look back and assess what didn't work for them and why...they do so without self judgment.
What didn't work for you in 2009 and why do you think it didn't?
Jan Blencowe
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Actually dedicating four full days a week to painting fell flat as a goal. Or as my teenagers would say, it was an epic fail. Why? Lazy? No. I completed 60 paintings in 2009 so clearly I’m putting in the studio time. I think it has more to do with my temperament and they way I approach the creative process. I tend to be a “chunker” not a linear worker. By that I mean I go in fits and stops, working furiously and with focus for several days and then taking a respite to refill my creative well. I’m not likely to decide that Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays are my painting days and then stick to it. So the goal didn’t really match my way of working and thus was not met in the way I initially expected it would. Next year the goal will be different, perhaps number of paintings completed per month or even just per year would work better.
Kristen Stein
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I haven't been successful in licensing my designs on a large scale, nor signing with an artist representative. Perhaps part of this is my own ignorance and skepticism of the role of the artist representative, since I have been a self-representing artist for so many years. I do hope that I can afford a little time to research, in 2010 and make more significant progress in satisfying these remaining goals. With a little more organization, I'd like to make a more complete artist retrospective that allows viewers to more readily see my portfolio of images available for licensing. I hope to add this artist retrospective back to my website in 2010, but with a more fluid way for viewers to see the portfolio of images.
Michelle Ciarlo-Hayes
What didn't work? Entering the year without any goals! How can you set about tackling the monumental task of selling your art to the world without stepping stones to achieve the end result?
Liese Martin
I guess I am just awful at special commissions. Art starts to feel like"homework" for me when I am told too specifically what to do and I worry about if the customer will like it the whole time. I wind up procrastinating the work and it just ruins the whole experience for me. No more custom work for me.
Jane Campbell
Being more scheduled/disciplined definitely didn't work out like I planned. I am easily sidetracked and often scattered.Perhaps it won't ever work out like I'd like it too. I did start living by a list. Making a list of daily tasks. Seeing them marked off each day gives me a better sense of accomplishment. I hope to get better at this in 2010.
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