Self-discipline? Surely You Jest?

- from Susan

Self-discipline? Not much. Witness, six pounds over the weight I was when I returned from France. I’d say, “Go figure,” except that it isn’t hard to figure out why. Trader Joe’s dark chocolate-covered raisins, local chef Robert Lambert’s hot ginger caramel sauce (www.robertlambert.com) over ice cream, artisan breads from the farmers’ market.

 

Self-discipline? How about my promise not to buy more hard cover books, because there is simply no room for any more on any shelf in the house. Promise broken at least a dozen times in the last couple of months: Louise Penny’s “A Trick of the Light,” Rhys Bowen’s “Naughty in Nice,” and Ruth Rendell’s “The St. Zita Society” among the fiction tempters; E.O. Wilson’s “The Social Conquest of Earth” among the non-fiction.

 

Self-discipline? My house is a temple to dust (see above re books) and I assured myself that I would take down, dust, and re-shelve all the books this summer, while I could leave doors and windows open. Percentage completed? Zero, and now there are more books to dust (see above). In self-defense, I must add that it’s been a typical summer here, cozied up to the Pacific Ocean, which translates to frigid most days. Now that kids are back in school, it’s warm and lovely, so I will promise myself again. Check back in November.

The one area where I did have admirable self-discipline is in turning in two manuscripts this summer. Two! On time and in decent shape. Come to think of it, my lamentable failures may be directly related to my one success. I graze, snack, demand sugar when I’m stuck anywhere in my writing. I buy books as rewards to read in an orgy of self-indulgence when I have turned in my work, and I look up from the computer screen, blinking, to notice the mess in my house right about the time I type “The End.”

 

Comments

[Ann]

I think finishing two manuscripts more than compensates for the dust bunnies and books and caramel sauce! Congratulations, Susan!! :-D

[Susan Shea]

Thanks, Ann. The rationale works for a few days, but a week after sending in the manuscripts, not so much!

[Staci]

That's not a lack of discipline, Susan -- it's the ability to prioritize. You should pat yourself on the back for knowing the manuscripts were the most important things this summer. Congratulations on getting them done! (and you should reward yourself with more chocolate-covered raisins)

[Camille Minichino]

Sounds "normal" to me, Susan. Nice work!

[Susan Shea]

Staci, I think I've hit my limit on Trader Joe's chocolates! Camille, I find I'm okay with dust and associated Bad Housekeeping for awhile, but then I wake up one day and go crazy with self-criticism. That day is now.

[Margaret Lucke]

Congratulations on completing two manuscripts this summer, Susan. And thank you for helping me find the perfect Christmas gift for my husband. Hot ginger caramel sauce -- yum! He'll love it.

[Michael A. Black]

Two manuscripts in one summer! Sounds like a whirlwind of writing activity. You don't even need to do any dusting if you're turning out pages that quickly.

[Susan Shea]

I should clarify: two manuscripts finished this summer, not started and finished!

Peggy, Robert is at San Rafael's big farmers' market every other Sunday and probably does other places too. His website is his name properly spelled. For some reason the link reads right but links wrong: it is "lambert." (And no, I don't get free fudge sauce for the plug!)

[Priscilla]

Two manuscripts define the term "self-discipline"!I think I'm doing well with one... Bravo! (And that should blow away a couple of dust bunnies!)