The previously undisclosed special secret to achieving all of your goals

Warning: only for those who want to achieve their goals.

Dear Readers,

I’m more than a little obsessed with why some people reach their goals and others don’t.

Last year, I set the goal of walking 10,000 steps per day. I was focused, determined, and mindful of that goal every day. Maybe even obsessed. As of July, I was at exactly 10K/day.

I kept striving to walk my steps, but various things piled up in my life: a trip, a book deadline, an illness. Stuff. And other stuff. So I began to drop off, thinking I could catch up, but then I fell behind enough that I realized I was too far behind. I finished the year with 9,000 steps/day. Not horrible. Better than the previous year. But I felt bad that I’d started with such promise and then tailed off so much.

This year I re-set the same goal. Except … and here is my moment of brilliance for those who are skimming. I shoot for 11,000 steps per day. I’ve become so obsessed by hitting 11K that I’ve forgotten my real goal is 10K steps. In fact, I get upset when I walk only 10,000 steps.

The outcome? I’m at 10,667 steps per day. The same stuff happens in my life to throw me off my mark. There are the occasional days where I only manage a few thousand steps, but most days I’m at 11,000+, so I’m increasingly building a cushion, a savings account of steps I can draw on.

The lesson: when you set a goal, always set a stretch goal beyond it, and then focus on the stretch goal.

You wouldn’t think it would take a decently smart guy like me half a lifetime to figure this out. Such is life.

This applies to writing as well. For everyone participating in this little writing event I’m part of, National Novel Writing Month, which challenges people to write 50,000 words of a novel in the month of November, try to write 2,000 words/day, 60,000 words per month, instead of 1,667 words/day.

I hate unachieved goals. They’re like litter along the highway. I’m trying to clean them up.

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Because I miss payphones

A pay telephone always holds drama. A secret phone call. An emergency. A change of plans.

In the era of payphones, which sadly came to an end with the advent of the cell phone, I remember so many moments when I was looking for a payphone or fumbling for change or rushing to finish a call before I needed to put in more money.

I remember payphones in the back of grimy bars, outside convenience stores, on late-night city streets.

I’d like to make a film centered on a single payphone, following the stories that begin and criss-cross there.

Use this photo as a prompt, as a random catalyst, as an igniter for any writing project you’re working on.

Or … simply write a story about this photo in less than 300 words and share it so I can read it.

Because we forget to celebrate some things

It’s odd how people celebrate getting to the top of a mountain, but not getting down the mountain, which seems much more challenging to me.

Because you don’t really need an action item from me, but okay, here goes:

Think of an achievement, an act of kindness, any action that didn’t get recognized or celebrated, and write a story about it. We all yearn for recognition, but so often don’t get it. There’s so much drama in what goes unnoticed, uncelebrated.

Because I need to pause for some self-promotion

This was a nice honor from Mashable, which ranked Write-minded, the podcast I co-host with Brooke Warner, as one of the 25 best podcasts for writers.

Mashable said:

Write-minded is "one of the more soul-bearing and honest on this list, and ideal for writers who lack a support system or writers' group to not only discuss the difficulties of the craft but to exchange ideas and inspiration."

Check out all of the podcasts.

Because a word: piquant

My dog Buster is piquant. He’ll put on an air of charming cuteness, approach a stranger warmly, wagging his tail, seeming to relish their attention—only to suddenly snap.

I joke that I like problematic people, problematic creatures in general. I don't know why.

Favorite words reveal existential dispositions, and "piquant" is a favorite word of mine.

It means "pleasantly pungent or tart in taste; spicy" and "appealingly provocative; charming." It can also mean "stinging," "causing hurt feelings."

I love that dichotomy: of being provocative and charming at the same time, managing to make the pungent pleasurable.

That which pricks always hold a peculiar pleasure.

Because a haiku

The breath

The breath

The breath

One definition of good writing

If you’re feeling uncomfortable, or even a little embarrassed, you’re probably on the right track.

One definition of knowing how to do something

Not knowing how to do something is a poor excuse not to try.

Knowing how to do something is a poor excuse for thinking you know how to do something.

I like this Jerry Seinfield quote:

“The less you know about a field, the better your odds. Dumb boldness is the best way to approach a new challenge.”

Be dumb. Be bold. Do things.

Because drama

It’s easy to forget the dramatic power of being with dramatic people.

My friend Karima decided to have a feast, a “casual high fantasy” feast. It’s a lovely concept, a lovely choice of words.

In my pandemic introversion, my work exhaustion, I didn’t quite feel like I had the energy for a party, especially one where I knew few people, but I’d forgotten how much good conversation and good food can replenish.

Karima is a master of the artful life. She doesn’t do anything just “good enough.” Everything resonates with resplendance, whether its her art work, her dress, or a meal.

Her “casual high fantasy” dinner party was a reminder to me to draw out the festivity of a day. A dinner party is a fascinating creation because it’s all for a moment, a single intense moment, and that is its beauty. The way that it rises, the way that it passes, the way that it’s about giving, giving food and conversation and connection, and then the way it lingers and keeps on singing in its way.

Because unknown forces

I found this line in an old journal I was about to throw out: “The universe is nothing more than a flowing …”

I ended the thought in midstream. Something must have interrupted me. I’ll forever not know what the universe is flowing toward. I bet I was about to unlock the meaning of life. Too bad.

Because a moment

The effortlessness of the gradual approach of the night…

Because an interlude

I once knew a man who had the same response to nearly anything that happened, whether a friend lost a job or a war started or someone got married or died.

He’d say, "Well, oh well, that’s the way it goes."

He was neither happy nor unhappy. He was satisfied, yet not. I never saw him get excited or angry. I always thought he should be in a Beckett play. He was a man of a strange and unenviable peace. Restless. Adrift. Needing something. Or not.

Because a writing video: what is an authentic story?

What is the difference between a "story about us" versus a "story about me"?

To hear Barry Lopez talk about storytelling is to hear a monk talk about feeling the divine. Ponder what an authentic story is.

All the Comfort Sin Can Provide

If you like this newsletter, please consider checking out my recently released collection of short stories, All the Comfort Sin Can Provide.

Lidia Yuknavitch said:

“Somewhere between sinister and gleeful the characters in Grant Faulkner’s story collection All the Comfort Sin Can Provide blow open pleasure—guilty pleasure, unapologetic pleasure, accidental pleasure, repressed pleasure.” 

Grant Faulkner is executive director of National Novel Writing Month and the co-founder of 100 Word Story. He’s the author of Pep Talks for Writers: 52 Insights and Actions to Boost Your Creative Mojo and the co-host of the podcast Write-minded. His essays on creative writing have appeared in The New York Times, Poets & Writers, Lit Hub, Writer’s Digest, and The Writer.

For more, go to grantfaulkner.com, or follow him on Twitter at @grantfaulkner.