the f-word

that's right kids, january is over.

it seems like forever ago we rung in the new year & thought about what we want to accomplish in 2013. goals were defined, minds were made & resolutions were set.  now, 31 days in: what’s happened to them? while statistics vary from source to source, all point to the fact that most resolutions go pear shaped within the first month.  many – including an earlier version of myself – would say, you failed. & i want to stop right there. 

you see, i have this thing against that word: failure. i want to remove it from my vocabulary completely. & from here on in i'm calling it the f-word.  my main problem with it is it sets you up.  it’s one sided.  there is no room for negotiation & it’s game over.  problematically, as a concept it’s fundamentally flawed.  it leaves out one vital clause: to err is human.

yet, failure carries a stigma. no one wants to even confess when they're wrong - so when it comes to admitting failure - good luck! even in the thesaurus, failure is tantamount with fiasco, letdown, disappointment, catastrophe. when really failure should just be a synonym for being par for the course. by default, it has to be factored in. i think the f-word should be (ok, this will sound cheesy) renamed the journey because, yes, it's par for the course.  

 & it’s the journey that i’m interested in.  

i've been thinking a lot about this over the past month.  i thought the recent study that found that when people tweeted about their diet, they lost more weight. social networking provided extra accountability to reach that objective.  but others feel different.  there's this great ted talk from a few years ago that says if you have a goal the best thing to do it keep it yourself. like mark twain has famously said: show don’t tell.  

doomed if you do, doomed if you don't right? & that's why i hate the f-word.

so those resolutions? tomorrow is february 1 after all. you have 11 more beautiful months to continue your journey.  (just maybe don’t tell anyone. jk! i’d love to know!).

tomorrow I’ll be posting tips to making resolutions last.  what has worked for you... & what didn't?

image via here