Sunday 28 December 2014

To Resolve or Not to Resolve, that is the question...


Someone recently told me this quote by Junot Diaz, “In order to write the book you want to write, in the end you have to become the person the person you need to become to write that book.”

I love that concept. And I think it’s natural at this time of year to look back at the year that was and look ahead to the year before me and ponder how I'd need to change in order to get what I want to create. I know I always do.

 

Some people like to write New Year’s resolutions. When I asked my friends about this, they said things like, Noooo. No resolutions. YUCK. In my head, I know what I have to do. I don't like writing resolutions. Then I feel like I failed if I don't stick to them. 
 
And, A resolution is more like a wish than a do don't ya think?
 
Then one of them said, The book I'm reading reminds us to live with purpose and create good habits that's kind of the opposite of a resolution.
 
I thought wow, this is in line with my way of thinking about it: that we have to ‘keep good thoughts’ as my grandmother would say, and do the work required to get to where we want to go.
 
A few years ago, I changed the title of my list to ‘Intentions’. The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘Resolution’ as ‘great determination’, and ‘Intention’ as what one intends to do.
 
For my list each year, I write down what I'd like to achieve in the coming months along with something I could tackle about myself. For instance, this year I intend to conquer my fear of public speaking by joining a local Toastmasters club.
 



A couple of years ago, at this time, my critique buddy, Maria Cisneros-Toth, and I came up with a fun idea - to write our goals for 2013 on paper, and put them in a bottle. We called it a mini ‘time capsule’, (to be opened on New Year’s Eve). Maria posted a YouTube video  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyjnScr4BHw in which she shared what she’d written the year before and her new set of goals, and shows you how to make your own time capsule.
 
 

 

This is an excerpt from my time capsule of Intentions for 2013 which were all large scale: 1) to score a traditional book publishing deal for Aden Weaver & the Or'in of Tane Mahuta 2) to have Peter Jackson (my idol) turn the first book into a movie 3) to finish Aden Weaver & the Sasori Empire completely.
 

This is an excerpt from my time capsule for 2014 Intentions, which were more modest: 1) to finish Aden Weaver & the Or'in of Tane Mahuta completely 2) to publish it myself.


While my time capsule message for 2015 has one Intention: 1) to finish and publish Aden Weaver & the Or'in of Tane Mahuta!!!


Sometimes you just have to suck it up and admit you’re not quite where you intended to be, while still walking the delicate tightrope between the truth and optimism, as is defined and redefined every year by my New Year’s List of Intentions.

 
Leonardo da Vinci said, "Art is never finished, only abandoned." Ain’t that the truth!
 

 


 

Talk to you in 2015!
 
Yvette K. Carol

 
"This morning I took out a comma, and this afternoon I put it back again." ~ Oscar Wilde
 
 

 


9 comments:

  1. That sounds a lot like me - my resolutions were always far too grand. And I got discouraged by the end of the year. I like the ideas of goals instead, using the S.M.A.R.T. method, which you can check out in one of my favorite blogs: http://www.soapqueen.com/personal-ramblings/goal-without-plan/

    Even so, I don't make too many goals either because I'm too lazy to plan. ;)

    Happy New Year, dear Yvette! May your 2015 resolutions, goals, and dreams come true! xo

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  2. Happy New Year to you too, my dearest Teresa! I checked out the Soap Queen's blog post. The Smart method sounds great. I'm sure this sort of set-up would really help. However, I'm not sure I'd be able to stick to it - I laughed at you saying you're too lazy to plan - I'm happy to plan and then I'm also happy to let life have its way with my plans. So I end up with half-progress, half-chaos.

    I'm not sure I could be that disciplined as to break things down into step-by-step goals! At any rate, I set great store by having an end zone in mind at the onset of a new year. Will we achieve it? Who knows. That's half the fun!

    I wish you a grand year ahead of joy and proud achievements. I'll be cheering you on! xxx

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  3. I hear ya! I could never follow the SMART method though I know people who swear by it. :)

    Love and hugs!

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  4. I like the mini time capsule idea. I'm doing the resolutions thing but keeping it private--mostly. It's me that wants to change one thing about myself. I don't want the pressure that comes with support from others because I haven't succeed on this particular quest yet.

    Anna from Shout with Emaginette

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    1. Yes, that's what some people have said as well, that if they make their goals public then there's the added pressure of expectation. With something like doing toastmasters, I don't want to do it so much that I'm hoping if I make it public then that expectation from others will help me push through my own resistance. We'll see how that goes! I don't know what your quest is for 2015, Anna, yet I wish you all the energy and fortitude you'll need in order to achieve it. Good luck, my friend!

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  5. Nice, well done. The best I could ever do at New Year's was the "one word" concept, where you just sort of picked a guiding word for the year. Haven't done it in a while, though. Good luck with your writing, Yvette.

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    1. Hi, James! Never heard of the one word concept at New Year's before. Interesting, I like it. I think if I was to pick one word for this year it would probably be 'Reach'! I like the list though, have to say, it helps restrain my tendency to get scattered and brings me back in line at the start of each year. Thanks for the good wishes, I too wish you a great year with your writing, not that you need any help in that department!! :-) Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it.

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  6. Heyya, Yvette. I don't do resolutions (they are more like wishes). I do have goals though. I have many goals this year. I really hope that I make most of them. Love the idea of the time capsule. I may decide to do that this week. Hmmm. Or my version, anyway. Ideas are already flitting about my head. How'd I miss this post? *sigh* xoxo

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    1. Hi Robyn, yes, it was in part our conversation on our tribe that sparked ideas for this post. I love the time capsule too. I've redone one for this year, only a lot smaller in scale!! Good luck with your goals for 2015 :-)

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