Putting It Out There

My New Year's goal for 2008 was to improve my language skills by eliminating the "F" word - a word I used on a regular basis. I created an "F Bomb" jar and deposited $1.00 for every time I used the word. This also includes finger gestures, by the way. New Years Day was very challenging. I had invited friends and family for a game of Trivial Pursuit, and it was going very badly for my team. The dollar bills were flowing, until I just gave it up and deposited $20.00 to cover the day.

Almost a year has passed. Yesterday, I opened the jar to count the money, just to keep track of my progress. The jar contains $16.00 plus the original 20 for a total of $36.00. Not bad. However, the charity that will be getting the money will not benefit too greatly from my efforts. I guess I'll have to add a few bucks to the jar for all the times I have THOUGHT the word and just never vocalized it! I am really proud of myself and I believe that by this time next year, I should be "F Bomb" free.

I think the trick to this whole experiment was telling everyone about my goal. People are very quick to point out when I need to add a dollar to the jar. They actually take pleasure in it! And honestly, there are times when it is a deliberate use of the word, and I will even take out the dollar before the word leaves my lips. But sometimes it just slips out.

So, now, when I have a goal, I tell people what it is and have them hold me accountable. It really does help to keep me focused. So,....I wonder if I should have a "Chocolate Jar" where I deposit $1.00 for every piece of chocolate I eat. Nah....I'd go really broke really quickly, and life is too short to deprive yourself of chocolate!