Tuesday, January 6, 2015

My Only Resolution

Last year, I made three resolutions:

1)  Take my writing more seriously.
2)  Reduce the irritation in my life.
3)  Accept myself for who I am.

I am definitely taking my writing more seriously.  I've been pretty good at reducing the irritation in my life.  And I'm happy in my own skin. So win win win.

This year, I only made one resolution, and it really shouldn't be that hard:

1) Maintain my sanity.

I said that as a joke when people first starting talking about resolutions for 2015.  One person even said something like 'you have sanity?'  You know, cuz writers are hanging on by their fingertips most days.

But then I started to think about it.  And the more I said 'maintain my sanity', the more I realized, it was a good resolution to have.  It doesn't just mean preventing a psychotic break, and staying out of an 'I love me jacket' at the local looney-bin.

It means not letting every little thing drive me crazy.  And I suspect there will be a lot of little things this year.  Missed deadlines and weird reviews and people not holding up their end of the bargain and squonky formatting and... Well, there are a lot of potential pitfalls to self-publishing that could drive one out of one's mind, doncha know.

But it's not just self-publishing that could make me crazypants.  It's the writing and the editing and the cats and the news and... well, life in general.

Hell, a trip to Walmart could send me 'round the bend.  I made the mistake of going to Wallyworld on New Year's Eve.  In the afternoon.  Oh.My.God.  I was totally stressed before I even parked the car because the people in the parking lot were insane.  So, I parked and sat in my car, calming down and then I shouted HAPPY NEW YEAR, climbed out into the world, and waded in.  Maintained my sanity that day.

So, I'll be working on my one resolution this year.  Life's too short and people are too weird to let it all make you nuts.

What about you?  Did you make any resolutions?  And what makes you crazy? 

12 comments:

  1. Great resolution! I have a friend whose resolution is "don't be an asshole" which is also a good one in my opinion.
    I set a ton of goals with the whole "shoot for the moon, land among the stars" mentality.
    Stay sane, my friend!

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    1. Thanks, JB! And yeah, that sounds like a good resolution, too. LOL

      Good luck with your goals! And stay sane, too!

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  2. I might need to borrow yours as an overall resolution for me, lol. I have lots of goals, but no real "resolution." With all the changes in our family this year, it sounds like a good one, LOL! ;)

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    1. After seeing your goals this morning, I think you definitely need to add mine to the list, Nat. ;o)

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  3. This is a great resolution! I think I'll adopt it for myself, too :) Sometimes when the process drives me a little too mad, I have to take a step back and I always feel better after doing so. I'll have to try to do this more this year! Happy New (and sane!) Year!

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    1. Thanks, Julie! Great to see you again! Feel free to adopt the resolution, too! The more the merrier! Take as many step backs as you need, and Happy Sane New Year to you, too!

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  4. I only made one goal this year. After 2 years of sewing everything from quilts to tote bags, I'm going to try a dress. Stupid really as I try to avoid dresses, but it's a challenge and I feel I'm up to it. As for what makes me crazy, drivers who don't indicate - grrr. Makes me spit tacks! It isn't as if it's difficult to do... going to stop now and get with the "keep my sanity" programme.

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    1. Good for you, Fran! You can do this.

      And yeah, that totally irritates me, too. My mom always says "Aww, that poor person. They forgot to install indicator lights on their car." lol

      Good luck with the program!

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  5. I think that's a damn fine resolution! We should all add it to our list. My resolution this year is "Survive." Hopefully, with my sanity intact but that's asking for a lot.

    As for Wallyworld on New Year's Eve? Woman, what the hell were you thinkin'?!?!?!?!!!! The only worse time to be there is on Christmas Eve. Just sayin'... ;)

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    1. Thanks! I think we should all add it to the list, too. Survive is an awesome resolution we should all adhere to, too.

      I admit it wasn't the wisest decision to go to Wallyworld, but I had to pick Kira up from the vet's anyway, and I needed a few things to tide me over until this week - like cat food. And I really did forget it was NYE. I'm like "Why is is so freakin packed in here?" and then I remembered.

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  6. I love your resolution. I think I'll add it to my (empty) list. (Not much of one for making resolutions, but I can handle this one.)

    I agree with Silver -- What were you thinking!?! ;-)

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    1. LOL, Deb, thanks. I hope this one is do-able for all of us.

      See above explanation. And short form = I wasn't thinking. lol

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