goalposts

[anotheranon]

A provocative question from las:

What are your goals as a writer, or teacher, or gardener, or parent, or whatever mission/avocation/profession/hobby is most central to your life?

My answer: To keep improving in all of my endeavors, and to not be afraid to try something new. If I'm doing the same thing over and over, I'm not progressing.

And you?

Comments

[semmie17.livejournal.com]

That's a tough question to answer, because it's so vague. I've always been very ambitious so I when I want something I create a plan so that I can get it. Most of the time I get what I want, and while sometimes I don't, I tend to modify my perception of my failed plans so that my failures are learning experiences.

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

Framing failures as learning experiences is a good strategy, but one that's hard as hell when the disappointment hits, in my experience.

I think a related question might be "how do you define 'success'?" The standard barometer for success in most professional endeavors seems to be money, prestige, or both, while in the hobbies I've chosen there really isn't any of that.

[semmie17.livejournal.com]

Success = money, prestige, and a personal sense of well-being and accomplishment in one's self-improvement choice. While your hobbies don't give you the first two, they certainly give you a sense of the latter, yes? ;)