Publishing wannabes, be optimistic but not foolish

Never thought I'd be referring to the Harvard Business Review for a creative writing blog post. But I ran into this inspired post at work offering great advice for those who've set challenging goals for themselves. What could be more challenging than publishing a novel--conventionally?

Anyway, in this article called "Be a Optimist Without Being a Fool," motivational psychologist Heidi Grant Halvorson* believes that while it's good to be optimistic, it is a ridiculous posture to think you'll easily succeed at most difficult tasks.

"But there is an important caveat: to be successful, you need to understand the vital difference between believing you will succeed, and believing you will succeed easily."

In other words, be a realistic optimist. Believe you will succeed, but at the same time, take steps to ensure success happens. For writers, that means submitting, networking, continuing writing, joining a writing group, taking a craft class or workshop, building your platform, etc.

None of us knows our own timetable for success. A friend's book may get picked up far sooner than yours or mine. Rarely does success follow just because we really want to be published. Don't be discouraged. Be heartened because you are a realist with the wisdom and maturity to needed to accept that difficulty lies ahead.

"Believing that the road to success will be rocky leads to greater success because it forces you to take action." Halvorson said. "People who are confident that they will succeed, and equally confident that success won't come easily, put in more effort, plan how they'll deal with problems before they arise, and persist longer in the face of difficulty."

Keep putting in the effort. Keep keeping on. Eventually, your persistence is likely to be rewarded.

*Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. is a motivational psychologist, and author of the new book Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals (Hudson Street Press, 2011)