And I get it. Life is insane at best and desolate at worst and there aren't enough hours in a day to fit in all the stuff you want to do and *insert endless list of literally anything here, including cleaning the litter box* . . .
I've failed a lot. I'm not old by any means so thankfully my experience of failed resolutions has been relatively small. I've had some pretty big things happen to me--of course, what's big to me may be miniscule to you--and have been on a self-esteem roller-coaster for a long time. But I've realized it all comes down to me. I need a new mindset. So I browsed the aisles in my head, carrying a sturdy basket at my side, and picked up a new mindset. It isn't going to be easy to just slap it on and boom, life's grand, but hey, it has to start somewhere. I'll get on this wagon. I'll fall off. Hoist myself back up. Eventually I'll install a good seatbelt to keep me upright. It all comes back to me. Which means, to keep my resolutions, I just have to find the way that works for me. Like in learning, for example: I retain stories, not dates. If I pick up a book on anatomy alone I'll quickly forget, but if I pick up a book on the effects of nutrition (something I'm very interested in) in the human body, I'll glean much more because I'll be making connections in my head to something I'm dealing with every day, e.i. eating. (Does that make sense to anyone else? My explaining skills aren't anything shiny, that's for sure. . .)
One thing that always gets me is I make a resolution for the entire year. That is my downfall because, really, some days I don't know whether it's Wednesday or Friday; so how can I keep something up for a year? It's too BIG to keep track of.
So this year I wrote a list and put it on a clipboard. This list does have some long term goals on it, of course, because life is (hopefully) a rather long term thing in general, but I've broken them down into chunks that I can clearly aim for. That I can check off the list one by one within this year.
Ta-da! I hung it on my shelf so I don't have to put a nail in the wall.
Made the S hook myself with some wire and Duck Tape.
It wouldn't be able to take any serious weight but it holds the clip board just fine.
I don't say exercise for 10 minutes every day for a year. There's no accountability in that. I'll end up missing half of it. So I said do one Blogilates video (my fav!) per day for 2 weeks solid. That will let me form a habit so I can keep it up after the 2 weeks is over but give me a definitive goal that I can reach for and then reward myself.
One of the long term goals is in my writing. I have never finished a story. (You writers out there know how it is, one great idea gets trampled by the next, writing stagnates, you get bored, etc.) One of my life dreams is to be a writer so why not start now? Start meaning it and proving not only to myself but to everyone else that I mean it as well.
While I like the independence of self-publishing I am not too keen on paying the cost of literally everything. Plus, I would seriously like the validation of having some stranger pick up my submission and say, "Let's publish this baby, tie it up in a bow, and send it off to Barns and Noble!" I know that I'll get rejected tons before that moment but still. You get my point.
My plan is to try and write and edit 2 books per year. The submission waiting period can be up to six months so I figure instead of sitting on my hands during that time I can write a new one and ship that off to a publisher, while right about that time the first should be getting either rejected or accepted. If I can keep that steady flow I can be prolific. Now to see if I can really do it.
The goal: one book in 6 months. Draft it in 4. Let it lie for 1. Edit in the final month. Ship it off. Start anew while I wait to hear back, following that same pattern.
So there is an example of a long term goal broken down into chunks I can really aim for. I did the math, not only figuring the total word count I was aiming for, but the monthly AND weekly word count. I am definitely a reward-driven person--I see dark chocolate tidbits in my future!
What are your resolutions for this year? What's your method for achieving your goals? Comment below! (You'd be fulfilling one of my resolutions if you did!)
Here is a picture of my dog Obidiah (Obi for short) and our cat Merlin, just for fun and adorableness:
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