2011 Goal 2: Baby Steps

A marathon is not finished in one leap. It takes steps. A lot of steps.

And it takes steps to get to the steps that actually move you along a 26.2 mile course. You start small: the first step of the first mile toward your dream. Then you build on it. And, finally, you get there.

This makes total sense to me when it comes to running. But I always forget this in other areas of my life. As you probably know, writing is my other big-ticket item on my list of things to do in my lifetime. For some reason writing and how to do it is a mystery to me even though I once worked in a newsroom and I’ve  published freelance articles. I even write for a living…although some people don’t consider copy writing a real job and others don’t even know it exists (*ahem* my father-in-law).

Still. When it comes to writing a book, I am overwhelmed. (I also feel the same way about the state of my kitchen right now, so I’ll get to the point.)

2011 Goal 2 is all about baby steps. I haven’t freelanced in about a year. I want to start again. And I’m going to pitch some stories to magazines and Web sites I admire (all my past stories were in newspapers). It’s funny because I was planning on this and then Robin at Running Circles Around the Turtles sent me a book that completely reinforced what I was thinking. (Thanks again, Robin!)

Hopefully, taking some smaller steps in writing will give me confidence and help lead me toward the finish line: completing a book.

With three half marathons, two 5Ks and a 10K completed in about a year and a half, I already know this system works! So what am I waiting for?

My solid, realistic goal: One story/article picked up by one magazine and/or Web site by July 2011.

What are your non-running goals? Is there anything you can learn from your success with running to help you achieve them?