If you don’t reach the goals you set for yourself, it can be disheartening and sometimes, quite frustrating. And when you hit that frustration, it may be tempting to revise goals to be more realistic and attainable. But it’s also important to have goals that take us beyond what we think we can do. There’s an important balance to strike between goals that are easy and goals that stretch. It’s a real art to maintain the right equilibrium.

Many times, people find that having accountability agreements—that is, someone to report back to—helps them to reach for the harder goals more consistently. However, I’ve noticed that sometimes having a tight accountability agreements can actually work against people. There is a balance to strike there, too. Knowing that someone expects to hear how things are going can push you to get things done. The flip side is that when your progress looks different from how you expected it, it can feel like you have nothing to report, increasing the sense of frustration. To make accountability work for you, you might want to mull over reporting any and all movement forward rather than focus strictly on goals or on what you planned to do.

In the end, plans don’t get things done. That’s because the map ain’t the territory. But with the appropriate balance between goals, plans, and accountability, you can make great progress. The joy of the process is that you can’t predict exactly how things will turn out, but by moving in the right direction, you increase the likelihood that things will turn out well.

Julia (left), now a life and leadership coach, earned her stripes as an actor then took her background in theater into the world of non-profits. Trish (right), also theatrically-inclined, is the former Executive Director of Arts Kentucky. Both women have facilitated leadership programs at the famed James P. Shannon Leadership Institute.

Last week, I talked to these wonderful women about how they’ve collaborated to bring the creativity they enjoy to the rest of us. (You can listen to our conversation here.) Coaxing Creative Back into the Light, billed as “A workshop for entrepreneurs, executives, activists and artists,” is designed to provide the all important pause—the space, time, and energy required for the inspirational spark to burst into creative flame. Julia and Trish both know it’s essential to provide creativity with an invitation. “[Creativity] won’t just come knocking on your door and say “Here I am!” Julia says. “You’ve got to come out on the front stoop and invite it in.”

Both women know how busy we all are. That’s why they’re setting aside a Saturday in September (September 20th, to be exact) to give eager participants in Louisville, Kentucky, the opportunity to really stretch their creative legs. Starting with breakfast (and chocolate, Trish was quick to add), twenty or so folks will have Trish and Julia all to themselves to learn the skills and techniques of calling on creativity. (If you want to join them, click here for more information.)

The main thing to remember is that you can choose to become more creative. You have all the talent and resources you need. All that’s required is to put out the welcome mat and invite inspiration in to tell you what’s next. And if you need some assistance, two lovely muses named Julia and Trish are ready to help.

When people do things for fun, like solving puzzles, the reward is internal. In fact, the doing itself is the reward. But just try paying the person for doing the exact same thing, and lo—the play starts to feel like work and motivation evaporates. Or more to the point, motivation backslides from want-to into have-to or should.

The link seems to be in the externalization bit. As reward becomes more external, the motivation goes with it. When reward is intrinsic, so is motivation and the desire to engage increases.

If you’ve been struggling with motivation, this may come as good news. By finding ways to internalize rewards for things you do (that is, letting the doing itself be rewarding), you may be able to shift your motivation from external to internal and from have-to to want-to.

To the Pausch family, deepest condolences. The world is a smaller place today.

If you’d like to hear about me talk about my system and how I work it, check out the podcast here.