Deb Linda Lacks Resolve

First of all, Happy New Year! I hope 2012 is truly a spectacular year for all of you.

So. Resolutions, huh? *sigh* Okay. When it comes to New Year’s resolutions I fall into the Yoda camp. To paraphrase my favorite little green Jedi: Do, or do not. There is no “resolve.”

This isn’t for any lofty Jedi ideals, mind you. It’s mainly just because my subconscious hates being told what to do, and I know a resolution is as good as double-dog daring her to thwart me.

But I’ve come clean about this before, last year on my blog. Here’s how I explained it then (yes, I am about to quote myself verbatim), and it still holds true:

~Fade to flashback~

>>I suppose this must be the obligatory New Year’s Resolutions post. Which is kind of a problem for me, because I don’t really do resolutions. Sure as taxes, as soon as I make a well-intentioned resolution, something* will plant itself solidly between me and it.

If I resolve to lose weight, high-calorie food will jump into my mouth every time I open it. (Hand to God, people. The food jumps.)

If I resolve organize my woefully cluttered closets, a hundred and ten more urgent tasks will magically present themselves, demanding my immediate attention. (What? Conquering 4-deck Spider Solitaire is urgent.)

If I resolve to write ten new pages of my WIP every day, my characters will laugh in my face and say, “You wish.” (Yeah, they can be a-holes. Don’t know where they get it from…)

So, I play mind-games with myself instead. I never vow to accomplish anything. I just think–vaguely, like I’m sneaking up on the idea–that it “might be nice” if a certain something were to come about. And then I start to do “just this little bit” toward achieving it.

For instance, I might think, I’ll really pig out tomorrow, but today this [insert name of obnoxiously healthy foodstuff here] really looks yummy, so I’ll eat it instead of the fourteen cupcakes and two pounds of bacon.

Or, I’ll just toss out these two shirts I haven’t worn in the past five years. That’s all. No major overhauling of the closet. 

And my favorite: I’ll add a couple of paragraphs to the WIP, just for grins, something I probably won’t even keep. 

Once I start a task, I tend to zone out and just keep going. Get into the Zen of it or something. Continue on autopilot, until something trips me up. Oddly, I usually manage to accomplish quite a bit this way. Especially if I can fool myself that whatever I’m working toward doesn’t matter all that much.

If I don’t try so hard…you know, if I play a little hard to get…then Stuff Gets Done.

I know! Silly, huh? It’s like with my daughter’s cats. The more you want them to sit on your lap, the more they ignore you. Pretend they don’t exist (my son is an expert at this) and they will stick to you like stink on shi–er, like lint on felt.

So, nope. No resolutions here.

How about you? Are you the resolute sort, or do you have a few mind games of your own? Do share.

*Granted, it’s usually my subconscious. She’s such a contrary b!tch. <<

~Back to the Now~

Of course, I’ve had to make some adjustments to my third example during the past year. One minor drawback to selling books is that you suddenly have deadlines, and you don’t always have the time for mind games. That’s when you have to start talking some smack to your subconscious. Yo, biatch. Shut the f*** up already and let me work!

You do what you can with the tools at hand.

[Okay, so was it totally lazy of me to rerun that post here? Hmm. I should probably resolve to work on that . . . or not.]

 

34 Replies to “Deb Linda Lacks Resolve”

      1. Yup. “The Game of Life” was getting to be a bit much. BTW, I bought my Gianna Mystery Date for Christmas – remember that game from the 60s and 70s? “Oh… I got the Dud!” You opened the door to your mystery date. I always wanted the skier dude. Bought it at Vermont Country Store.

        1. Oh, my gosh! I DO remember Mystery Date. Sadly, I always thought the Dud was the cutest one. Don’t know what that says about me. (And it is NO reflection on my husband, who is way cuter than any of the mystery dates, even the Dud. *grin*)

  2. You say rerun–I say RECYCLE! And in this house, recycling is law. So you done good, lady. 😉

    Can I just say that every time I see Luke Skywalker now as an adult I so dig him more than Han? I think that means I’m a grown-up–Luke was such the better catch. No offense, Yoda–you’ll always be a dude! (and I don’t mean Mystery Date Dude!)

  3. Bahahaha! I picture you walking by your WIP like, “What? Oh, hey. I didn’t even see you there. Yeah, I guess we could do something later. Or tomorrow. I don’t know, I’m very busy. Text me.”

  4. I make a BIG list of stuff I’d like to do, including lots of quick/simple stuff and cross of things as they’re done. That way even when I’m being lazy and picking the easiest stuff, I still get something finished most days.

    1. See, I’d never get past the “I should make a list” part. My subconscious would be all “You don’t want to do that now! You want to eat a bowl of ice cream!”

      But I do like the concept of crossing off things so you can fell like you’ve accomplished something, so it might be worth pursuing. Right after I finish this ice cream…

  6. Yes… ‘deadlines’ ACK! I suddenly have lots of them. I wrote my first novel in an ice rink during my son’s hockey practice. Now, I have one due in May! MAY!! Pardon me while I go curl into a ball under my desk and ponder that.

  7. I started to quote part of this back at you because it’s so me – but then there were too many quotes cause it’s all me.

    Get out of my head Linda. It’s a dangerous neighborhood and there’s barely room in there for me!

    1. Excellent post. “Just make the bed” indeed.

      It’s like that old question: How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time. The concept of tackling large tasks in small bites really resonates with me. 🙂

  9. I totally relate to this. If I make lofty goals, stuff will ALWAYS get in the way, so yeah, I do this, too. I also make little deals with myself: like last night I told myself it was okay not to walk the dog, but then I couldn’t have my nightly popcorn snack. Well, I really wanted that popcorn, so off I went. I’m so easy to manipulate.

    1. LOL! I’ve tried direct threats like that (“No ice cream sundae if you don’t walk three miles instead of two today!”) but my contrary subconscious rebels (“Oh, yeah? Well, we’ll just see about that!” as she adds extra whipped cream).

      She responds better if I’m like “Oh, I’ll just take a short walk over to the duck pond…I’m in the mood to see some ducks,” and then “As long as I’m out here with my walking shoes on, I may as well take the long way home along the wooded path — who knows, I might see a woodpecker.” See, I have to distract her, or she gets all stubborn about stuff. 😉

  10. HA!!! I totally agree. This year I decided to make my resolutions deliberately unattainable so I won’t have to worry about them. My favorite is “to look like Giselle.” As in, the Victoria’s Secret supermodel. Yeah, hit me up in 2013 and I’ll let you know how that one worked out.

  12. I’m exactly the opposite, when it comes to resolutions. If I dare myself to do something, I will do it. I hate feeling like a failure. So this year *gulp* I will purchase no new clothes or shoes. It’s gonna be a long one. Happy new Year!

    1. Geez, if I made that resolution, my closets would burst! Luckily, I practically have to be forced at gunpoint to shop for clothes and shoes. *grin*

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