Book a week
One book a week will be my pace for 2006. I see a lot of people talking about setting goals of 50 books a year. That sounds like a lot of books. A book a week is more, but it’s broken into a time span I understand. I know I can do it, and it’s less than half my pace in college.
Besides, I’ve never been much of a goal setter; doing what I set out to do always leaves me feeling empty.
I’ll be posting book reports as I go.
January 28th, 2006 at 1:25 pm
I like the book goal. The negative vibes toward goal setting sort of throw a bucket of teeth into my gears (a lovely vision, no?). I get a very different feeling than the one you describe when I set goals and achieve them, and I tend to be very unhappy when I do neither. But that’s another story.
January 28th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
Oh… and if doing what you set out to do makes you feel empty, then I guess I hope you don’t actually read a book a week, even though I think you’d be happy if you at least came close.
January 28th, 2006 at 1:36 pm
Well, as you note, this is a goal, even if I can’t call it that. If I call it that, I just won’t do it. I know myself.
Calling it a “pace”, makes it a fact and that lets me just do it and not worry about doing it or not doing it.
And I have already read my 4 for the first four weeks of January, I just haven’t written them up yet.
January 28th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
See, your second comment gets close to heart of the issue. If I set a goal of reading a book a week, if I do that, then I have accomplished a goal. I haven’t read a book.
If I just say I’m going to read a book a week, and then read a book a week, then I’ve read a book a week.
January 28th, 2006 at 9:58 pm
Good on you! I look forward to your book reports.
I know what you mean about the “goal” thing (and part of it could be my association with certain corporate culture). For me, a “habit” is a better way to think about it — to ingrain some improvement in my life and enjoy the process and sometimes surprises more than getting to the finish line and crossing it off my list. That’s one reason why those “100 things I want to do before I die” lists creep me out a bit.
January 29th, 2006 at 9:18 am
I too have a problem with the term “goal”. Though widely used in hockey and soccer, I prefer the term “score”…it sounds more badass somehow. Everyone can get behind a score. Then again, there is something majestic about the extended “goooooooaaaaaallllllll”…”ssscccccoooooooooorrrrr” doesn’t work as well. I don’t know. Good luck with your goals. Now, what’s this about books?
January 30th, 2006 at 1:38 pm
I had written another reply, and the lovely internet (or whatever) decided not to take it. The gist is thus… It’s not the word that really matters. If your issue with the word itself gets in the way of your doing something, that’s when it’s a problem. You hardly need to set a book goal–it’s a habit you already have. (And it’s a good one, I’m definitely not knocking it.) When it’s something less easy for you, the word itself is just another thing that gets in the way. It’s the thing that matters, and not the word.