Resolving Early

What It Looks Like Before You Are Shot Out Of A Cannon
The view looking up the barrel of one of the 12″ Coastal Mortars (M1890MI) that were installed to protect the entrance to Tampa Bay at Fort De Soto on Mullet Key near St Petersburg, Florida Copyright by WyoJones. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

I had this story idea once about a character who was the shot-out-of-the-cannon person in the circus. The story died because I didn’t know much about working for a circus or being shot out of cannon. What does this have to do with resolutions? Trust me, I’m going to make this work.

Though I don’t plan to die trying.

I don’t know about you, but most of my New Year’s resolutions end up being bumps in the road that I run over and leave behind in my rear view mirror. Don’t get me wrong. I believe in setting goals, but there is something about a shiny new year that ignites something inside me. Something huge. Like being shot out of a cannon (notice how I slipped that in here?). The goals, at least mine, end up being a bit grandiose. Sometimes it is lack of knowledge about what is involved in accomplishing a goal. Sometimes it is willful blindness about my own shortcomings.

So I had the bright (lame?) idea to do my goals BEFORE getting sucked into the shiny new year. Some of my goals are obvious and not too scary. Things like 1) finish Dead Spaces and 2) finish Sucker Punch. Those aren’t just goals though. Finishing the two books is a contract with my readers. Plus, I’m having so much fun writing them, I’m dying to get them done.

But I’m probably not going to lose weight or get in better shape in 2015. I’m going to turn 60 in 2015. [pause for wince here] This is pretty much the shape I’m going to be until I start to shrink and develop a widow’s hump. (See 2015 already looks less shiny and bright.)

So here’s what I’m going to try to do (or be?) in 2015:

1. Kinder (I’d add patience here, but the hubs has asked me to quit working on that. Every time I pray for patience he gets hosed. Apparently he is my practice subject.)
2. Figure out sooner which things I can do something about and which things I can’t. Let go of what I can’t fix and fix what I can.
3. Don’t put things on my to-do list that I have no intention of actually to-doing.
4. And if I put something on my to-do list, to-do it. Like seriously. Just to-do it and move on.
5. The #GrandmaProject. (A list should have something fun on it, right?)

I was going to add more, but then it will look too much like a to-do list. This is a resolution list which is totally different from a to-do list. Even though I make up stories all the time, I wouldn’t lie to you. They are completely different even though both involve doing. It’s just a different kind of doing.

So what will you be resolving to do and not do in 2015? You know I love comments in 2014 AND will still love them in 2015. Cuz that’s how I roll. I also enter them into my monthly drawing for an AnaBanana gift basket ($25 value). And I announce a winner the first blog post of the new month (which will also be a New Year!)

Perilously yours,

Pauline

P.S. Since I’ll be “resolving” to finish Dead Spaces in 2015 (hopefully early in 2015 – if Life Doesn’t Happen too much), I thought I’d feature Relatively Risky this week. I’ll bet Nell’s New Year’s Resolutions would be pretty interesting. LOL

The Big Easy isn’t always easy…

You don’t have to wait for Relatively Risky! It’s available now for buying in digital, print and audio!