I get it. The holidays are history and the now the visions of sugar plums wiggle on our hips. The decorations and trees come down and the excitement of the season waddles to the back of our memory. We’re surrounded by ending and, because of that, many writers pull over and park, not remembering to pick up a pen until the spring thaw.

Right now—yes, today—determines how successful you will be at reaching your writing goals in 2012. What you do right after you read this will set in motion the wheels that will lead you either on a journey of success and fulfillment, or on the road to nowhere you’d ever want to be. You’re in the driver’s seat. It’s all up to you.

Perhaps you feel sluggish from celebrating the holidays. Yeah, I felt that way too after eating 73 pounds of chocolate. Maybe you tried to crank things up this week but your motor just wouldn’t turn over. Like that car battery that has lost its juice, you need a jump start.

It may help you right now to know:

1) It’s rare that writers actually feel like writing. They may want to be published and love to create suspenseful plots. But the actual laborious task of stringing word after word together is not an activity they can’t wait to dive into.

2) Our culture has led us to believe we should be comfortable at all times. If we’re not—and we are seldom comfortable developing our craft—we tend to avoid that activity. Instead, we pick up a novel and relax in the hammock as we are drawn into the feel good romance.

3) Most of the world will not pursue their dreams. They just won’t go through the process of setting specific goals and work toward achieving them so there dream will come true. It’s entirely possible that an average writer who actually completed a manuscript will be published. Why? Umm… because they wrote it while the best novelist in the world lounged in their recliner chair watching Frazier reruns.

The calendar is already clicking away. Do you want to look back in 358 days and celebrate your accomplishments, or does treading water in the sea of “what might have been” sound more appealing? The choice is yours.

Here are a few things you can do this weekend that will help jumpstart your year of success. If you do these, you will be well on your way to the December 31st celebration dance in the end zone!

1) Commit. You decide that, no matter what life throws at you this year, you’re going to continue moving forward toward your goal of being a writer. Life’s going to happen whether you write or not. While you’re enduring life and solving the problems that surface, you might as well have something to show for it at the end of the year.

2) Set Specific Goals. There is a catch. The goals must also be realistic. You could set a goal of writing two novels a month but it’s highly unlikely—ok, it’s really impossible but that seemed like such a drastic word—that you’ll pull it off. You want the goals to challenge and stretch you, but not to discourage and defeat you.

3) Establish a task list and timeline. This is critical. Why? First of all, you’ll only have to think really, really hard once. You can figure out what needs to be done and break it down into daily assignments. The elephant is cut into bite size pieces. You know each day what you should accomplish that day. You can adjust the assignments based on your other life commitments. And, if you missed a day of work, you know exactly what you didn’t get done and what you need to do to catch up.

4) Display your Goals. I put mine everywhere. On my bathroom mirror. In my car. On my computer. They constantly remind me what’s important and why I should make the choice each and every day to move in that direction. You

should too. If you have children consider turning your goals into a nursery rhyme and get them to sing it with you.

I hope you make the decision to be one of the chosen few who opted to run the race and pursue their dream. After all, your dream is too important to remain unlived. What are your dreams? Your goals? I’d love to hear them. Need help? I’ll be glad to help you iron out a great plan. Email me at Reba@mybooktherapy.com.

Here’s to your success!

AUTHOR BIO: Reba J. Hoffman is the MBT Member Care Coach. She has a PhD in clinical counseling and is the founder and president of New Hope Institute of Counseling. Reba uses her gift of encouragement to help writers overcome negative emotions so they can live their dream of being a writer. Her works appear in publications such as Running for the Woman’s Soul by Road Runner Sports and The Good Fight by Donna Hicken. She is the author of My Book Therapy’s Dare to Dream, a Writer’s Journal. Contact her at reba@mybooktherapy.com.