Setting Big Hairy Audacious Writing Goals
Do you know where you’re going to?
The theme from Mahogany song is running through my head as I prepare to type this story; those reflective lyrics by Gerry Goffin and Michael Masser that Diana Ross brought to life.
Do you know where you’re going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you?
Where are you going to, do you know?
I spent a lot of time in my last “day job” position before I quit focusing on MBOs and OKRs and other management and measurement principles of goal setting. My nemesis came in the form of a S.M.A.R.T. goal. “Manage what you measure; measure what you manage” was drilled into me by our C.E.O. who clearly studies Peter Drucker and John Doerr just enough to be dangerous.
What I took away from all that corporate talk was the importance of knowing where you wanted to go in all aspects of your life and taking actions to get you to that destination.
A dear friend of mine shared an analogy with me one day about rock climbers. They said something akin to the fact that while rock climbers travel towards the anchor at the summit of their route, they might move sideways or even backward, occasionally. And those things are okay if they ultimately get them to the top.
There are steps you can follow for goal-setting… and there’s some great advice on the topic right here on Medium (and here, too).
But I’m not trying to talk to you about the tactics you take to get to the goals you set for yourself, not yet at least. I’m talking to you about the big hairy audacious goal you haven’t even dared to imagine yet. The BHAG.
The BHAG is the vision. The ultimate dream. The resting place before moving on to something else. The thing 10–20 years down the road that spurs you on.
What is your BHAG?
For me, it’s a cottage on the shore where I write without household responsibilities weighing down on my daily (you know, those pesky things like bills, home repairs, and daily chores). While those things might be present in the said cottage, they aren’t dominant in my life because I will have achieved some level of discretionary comfort.
Now there are plenty of smaller goals that will get you to your BHAG. The key is to set that big one, then switch your thinking to problem-solving. Ask yourself, “In what ways might I get there?” and brainstorm away.
For writers, maybe the answer you land on is via corporate writing. Book publishing. Contest winning. Blogging. The routes you might take are about as varied as there are, well, ways to climb a mountain, even a mountain of rock.
So what are they, your big, hairy, audacious goals?
What is your destination?
Where are you going?
