Yes, I’m a Big Fat Failure!

I don’t think I lasted more than a day with my New Year’s Resolution, but even if I had it would have bitten the dust on Sunday night.  That was the night that damn Tebow blew my Steelers’ chance in the Playoffs.

Yep.  One of my resolutions was to stop swearing.  Although I said a few whispered swear words under my breath throughout the game, I let loose a long, and—I might add—loud string of them in those brief seconds of overtime.   Very brief seconds.

Although I read that 88% of New Year’s resolutions fail, it doesn’t make me feel a whole lot better.  I admit that my resolution was a bit half-assed anyway. 🙂  I couldn’t think of much that I wanted to change this year. 

I’m blessed to have wonderful friends and family.  I could stand to lose a few pounds, but I don’t particularly stress about it.  I could try harder to quit swearing, but then I’d have to stay off the roads. 

Instead of resolutions, I’d rather look at the things I’d like to accomplish and just work toward that goal.    

One of those goals is to get one of my books published.  I’m not setting an unreasonable time limit on this one though.  Just as long as I work toward it, that’s good enough for me. 

So, I’d like to share the goals that I’ve reached so far in the first ten days of the month.

  1. I’ve smiled at strangers for no apparent reason, and most of the time, I get one back.
  2. I’ve donated eight bags of clothing to charity. 
  3. I’ve spent time with my kids, playing games and trying not to swear when they beat me. 🙂
  4. I started the Harry Potter series.  Finally!
  5. I’ve renewed contact with old friends. 

I certainly don’t want to feel like a failure for the things I couldn’t do.  I’d rather feel victorious for the things that I have.   I may let some curse words slip out time and time again, but I’ll continue to smile at strangers, and hope that it makes someone’s day better. 

If that’s all I do in 2012, I’m happy with that.  🙂  

Do yourself a favor.  Set reasonable resolutions this year.  It sure makes you feel like a winner when you reach them!  I don’t look at it as copping out or lowering my standards and expectations.  I look at it as giving myself an edge.   

Give me a couple reasonable resolutions that you’ve set.  I don’t want to hear any hard ones.  That just makes me feel like a Big Fat Failure.

24 thoughts on “Yes, I’m a Big Fat Failure!

  1. First of all, I’m soooo over that damn Tebow kid. Go Steelers!!!

    Secondly, I like the idea of reasonable goals. One year, my New Year’s resolution was to floss my teeth every day. Guess what? I still floss every day. This year I’m trying to see all the movies nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. The nominations aren’t out yet but so far I’ve seen War Horse and The Descendants. This resolution is both doable and fun.

    Happy 2012, Kim-Mermaid! 😉

    p.s.
    Don’t worry – I won’t tell anyone the, um, “words” you texted to me during the game on Sunday. 😉

    1. Ha ha, Kerri. I thought you were going to say that flossing your teeth every day was totally un-doable and too hard!

    2. Kerri,
      I’m also completely over that damn Tebow kid. LOL. I don’t care if God is on his side or not. 🙂
      I like your resolution to floss every day. I think I’ll add that to mine. I’m pretty sure I can handle that. If movies weren’t so gosh-darn expensive, I’d also add the movie thing.
      Thanks for keeping my “words” secret from my game texting. They weren’t much better in person.

  2. Kim, that’s a tough one. I’m a big fat failure, too. One of my goals is to procrastinate less on my writing. But instead of saying I’m not going to procrastinate at all (which is not really do-able), my goal is to redirect my procrastination into more productive things. So if I know I’m not getting any writing done, instead of aimlessly surfing the internet, I will either spend quality time with my kids or do something else that needs to be done. For example, this is how my query letter got written… because I was procrastinating on my revisions!

    1. P.H.,
      I’m with you with the procrastination. I’m super bad at that. I waited until the day before I mailed my Golden Heart entry to write my synopsis. Lots of swearing going on that day…
      Last year I decided to quit playing online Boggle. I haven’t played in more than a year because I would always think, “Just one more game. One more. That’s it.” But, two hours later, I would find myself saying the same thing…
      So, I like “procrastinating less.” Not giving it up entirely. LOL.

  3. Hey Kim! I’m going to steal my baby sister’s resolution and put a twist on it. Hers is to simply make sure her feet are “baby butt soft” since she’s on them so much with work. As a writer, I’m going to take better care of my hands which means weekly Silky Hands dates for moi!

    1. Love this goal, too, Carlene! I baby the HECK out of my hands. And my lips. I think I keep the entire industry in business. I have chapsticks in every pocket, every purse, every drawer. It’s a sickness, I think. I’m not much better with the lotion for my hands. I have a problem there, too. But I can think of worse problems to have…

  4. Na-Ne-Na-Ne-Boo-Boo Steelers can suck it. 🙂 I don’t know why I hate that team so much, but I’ve found that like the Patriots I root for whoever is playing against them.

    Now that that’s out of the way, I love your idea of New Year’s goals! Will have to make a list of my own.

    1. You’re not a very nice person, Avery. That’s all I have to say to you.
      Besides… (in all caps because I know how you like that) STEELERS ROCK!!!

        1. Bring it on! Ahem…I think you might be outnumbered, but that’s your call, Avery.

          1. You don’t even have a reason for hating them, Avery! COME ON! If you should hate any team, hate the Ravens like normal people. The Ravens are a bunch of murdering thugs. They suck!

  5. Now, now ladies there is no need to be rude. After all, we all know that my team–and I do literally mean MY team as we own a share of stock–is the best. Go Green Bay!!!! 🙂

    As for New Year’s goals… I’m working on writing consistently, everyday, and living a healthier lifestyle.

    1. I’ll ignore the Green Bay comment since you weren’t rude to the Steelers like that gosh darn Avery.
      Regarding the writing goal…I’ll try to join you on this one starting….
      well, sometime really, really soon.
      And guess why I haven’t commented on my own post until right now? Because I was at the gym, that’s why! Woo hoo. Of course it had been so long since I’d been there that they had to reinstate my fitness number. I hate when they call from the gym to remind me that I haven’t been there in a few months…
      Don’t you think I already know that?! Get a life!!!! LOL.

  6. I hear you Kim, reasonable is what it’s all about. One of my ‘resolutions’ was to fix my office so that it better reflects how I intend to spend MOST of my time in said office – that is writing. Well, I finished it. Now I have all sorts of reminders surrounding me. And it feels good writing in my writing space…

    Another achievable goal – send out query letters to three agents – that’s all, and I want to get that done this month. So I’m drafting query letters. The synopsis is in the hands of my CP partner – so here’s hoping I can also strike that one off the list. So yeah, I like your approach and don’t worry about the cursing. You weren’t the only one on Sunday:)…

    1. Denny,
      I really need my own writing space. Right now I either write at the kitchen table or in my bed. The in-the-bed approach doesn’t lend itself to very good posture, which SHOULD be another resolution. I would love to set myself up with a cute little corner where I can put up some sticky notes. Ahhhh. Okay. Maybe that will also be a goal this year…
      I’m also going to try your three-agent approach as well. Three isn’t that many. It’s not overwhelming. It’s doable. I hate query letters almost as much as that 80-yard touchdown pass of Tebow’s. Grrrrr.
      Good luck on your query letters and the dreaded synopsis. Thank God for CPs. 🙂

  7. Umm . . . okay . . . I am totally out of the loop! Don’t like football much. The only games I watch is Army-Navy (I’m prior Navy my first duty station was Annapolis also where my husband is from). Lot’s of Navy pride (though he joined Army he still cheers on Blue/Gold).

    Back to resolutions. This year, I didn’t make any! *Gasp* I know, I know. No, this year I threw away the worries of last year. I’m focusing on being the best me I can be. I’m old (43 next month) so I’ve learned to accept the things I can’t change and to just try to be happy with it. I do more than some, less than others–I’m never going to be model perfect (though my husband says I have the figure of Scarlet Johannson–phhh–I wish!), and I’m proud to have raised two wonderful older teenage daughters who are the best any mom could ask for. My marriage has lasted for more than 20 years and though I’m not rich or famous (yet) 😉 , I’m comfortable. That is all anyone can ask for.

    Enjoy being you and don’t let failing resolutions beat you up.

    1. Loni,
      I’m pretty much in the same boat. I’m fairly happy with myself as is. And I mean “as is.” LOL. Sort of like the item in the clearance section that looks really good from a few feet back. Just don’t inspect it too much. 🙂
      I think you really need to reevaluate how you perceive your age. I’m turning 43 this year, and I still feel like I’m young! Seriously. Maybe because I write YA. I think young.
      It’s nice to remember to be thankful for all that we have. I don’t really let the resolution thing beat me up. I sort of shrug at those resolutions. With one shoulder. A lot.

    1. I’m trying to do that as well, Robin. It’s hard to write when I keep getting distracted by blogs and emails. Even though they’re fun distractions, they’re still distractions. So understand your BYE very well, and I don’t expect you to respond to this. 🙂 LOL

  8. I’d resolved not to make any New Year’s resolutions. Then I went to the dentist and had the bright idea of flossing my teeth every day. So far, so good!

    And I refuse to comment on the game. I think Tebow is hilarious, even made him a “go to” visual for a new story that’s in the very early stages of development.

    1. Susan,
      I think flossing teeth everyday is a great goal. And I wish I could find a way to put Tebow in a story, but right now all I can do is grind my teeth when I think about him. Grrrrrrr. Of course, if he played for the Steelers, he’d be my favorite person in the world, so I have to put it in perspective.

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