I cannot get this Jimmy Carr quote out of my damn head…
Audience member:
What’s the secret to being a great comedian?Jimmy Carr:
What’s the secret to being a great—I mean, I’d be honored if you thought I was a great comedian, but I think it’s probably self-assignment.
Comedy’s taught me everything I know about life, right? Life is self-assignment. You—you know what’s the metric you judge it on? Well, you decide.
So, I write jokes every day. I’m going to tell some new jokes at the end of the show. That’s it. Just fucking decide what work you’re going to do and do it.
The life that you want is on the other side of the work you’re avoiding.
His words really resonate with me because the things I enjoy most in life are all things I’ve self-assigned, and those are the things that bring me the most joy.
I can think of a ton of examples, starting with this year of blogging and goal-setting. No one told me to do it. No one was asking for a return of the old blog. No one pays me for it. There are no ads, no sponsors, it’s just me deciding I wanted to write again.
And here I am, 45 weeks later, happier and more content than I’ve been in years.
Every goal I’ve tracked this year is a self-assignment. I wanted to learn to make sourdough, so I read books, watched videos, and asked questions. I wanted to make pasta, so I researched recipes and gave it a try. I wanted to hike more, walk more, paint more, take more yoga… so I did.
The life that you want is on the other side of the work you’re avoiding.
That line is key for me. I work a lot. I wake up early. I don’t sleep in on weekends. I head straight to the gym, the yoga studio, or the trails. Then I grocery shop and prep for the week. When I get home from work, I immediately empty the dishwasher and prep dinner.
I know people think I’m crazy, but I am happier when I’m engaged and doing things. I understand that some people enjoy relaxing, lounging about, reading, and sleeping in, but that’s not the life I want. So I work for the one I do.
Let’s take cooking, for example. Cooking was always something I wanted to be good at, so like Jimmy with his writing, I just started doing it every day.
And when I started, I made a lot of shitty things. I remember once, around 2001, my husband and I were living in an apartment with a tiny kitchen, and I made the most horrendous batch of gluey mashed potatoes. They were so bad, I still remember the pot of pure potato snot.
I laughed about it then, and I’m laughing about it now. But I learned that day that not all potatoes make good mashed potatoes. Experience really is the best teacher.
And don’t think I don’t still have epic kitchen fails. A few years ago, I made the worst pecan pie ever for a dinner party. My friends still tease me about it to this day.
One time, I marinated chicken too long in pineapple juice (Ry was probably about three), and the chicken literally turned to slime. We all laughed, and that’s when I learned about the enzyme in pineapple that eats through protein.
Just a few weeks ago, I added WAY too much ginger to some fried rice, and both kids could barely eat it. Ry tried to be nice, calling it a “flavor bomb,” but it was awful.
And tonight, I attempted homemade spaghetti and, umm… yeah…
It was a pile of MUSH. I had to hit the pantry and grab some store-bought just to salvage the meal.
So, yeah, I’m pretty good at cooking, but that’s becuase I’m willing to work on it and make mistakes.
The older I get, the more I realize self-assignment is the secret to my happiness.
2025 Goal Check In
- Blog Weekly.
- so far… ✔️
- Paint More. Don’t overthink it.
- so far… ✔️
- Make a new handmade pasta monthly.
- Jan ✔️ ✔️
- Feb ✔️ ✔️
- March ❌
- April ✔️✔️
- May ✔️
- June ✔️
- July ✔️
- August ✔️
- September ✔️
- October ✔️
- November ✔️ (FAIL but I’m counting today’s attempt lmao)
- Hike at least twice a month.
- Jan ✔️✔️
- Feb ✔️✔️
- March ✔️ ✔️
- April ✔️✔️
- May ✔️✔️✔️
- June ✔️ ✔️
- July ✔️✔️
- August ✔️✔️
- September ✔️❌
- October ✔️❌
- November ✔️
- Perform one unassisted dip.
- Still training.
- Perform five strict pull-ups.
- Still on singles.
- Handstand walk.
- Still training.
- Take at least three yoga classes a month.
- Jan ✔️✔️✔️
- Feb ✔️✔️✔️
- March ✔️✔️✔️
- April ✔️✔️ ❌
- May ✔️✔️✔️
- June ✔️✔️✔️
- July ✔️ ✔️ ❌
- August ✔️✔️✔️✔️
- September ✔️✔️✔️
- October ✔️✔️✔️
- November ✔️
- Make homemade sourdough bread.
- ✔️✔️✔️OMG I did it!✔️✔️✔️
- Take the kids to Iceland.
- Fix the holes in my house (long story, lots of plumbing issues this year).
- Continue my Spanish Streak on Duolingo (I’m on day 1,231!!).
- so far…✔️ day 1543
- Take a Spanish class in person.
- UGH This needs a whole post to talk about!!
- Plan something special for The Husband’s 50th birthday!
- I BOOKED IT!
- Snatch 125lbs.
- More confident in this goal now.
- Compete in at least one weightlifting meet.
- Walk a minimum of half a mile daily with Marsh and, preferably, with the Husband, but I can’t base my goal on him.
- Very rarely miss a night.
- Track my movie-watching on Letterboxd.
- so far…✔️ Click here to see!
- Keep my citrus trees alive!
- so far…✔️ (They seem to be okay in the house so far!)
- Host an extended family dinner monthly.
- Jan ✔️
- Feb ✔️
- March ✔️
- April ✔️
- May ✔️
- June ✔️
- July ❌ (But we went out)
- August 👌🏻 (Mom hosted to give me a break)
- September ✔️
- October ✔️
- November (This shall be Thanksgiving!)
- Clean out and organize my closet and drawers.
- Thrift more and purchase no brand-new clothes.
- so far…❌ I caved and purchased about five new items this year (mostly for the Iceland trip), but I have also visited many second-hand stores and attended my first clothes swap. I now consider myself a thrifter! 🙂
- Take daily supplements more consistently.
- so far…✔️
- Reduce alcohol consumption to once or twice a month.
- Jan ❌ 1/18, 1/23, 1/31 (close!)
- Feb 2/1, 2/15 ✔️
- March 3/22 ✔️
- April 4/25, 4/26 ✔️
- May 5/3, 5/10 ✔️
- June 6/7, 6/19 ✔️
- July 7/14 ✔️
- August 8/9, 8/22 ✔️
- September 9/27 ✔️
- October 10/25
- November 11/1
- Cook one new recipe/dish a month.
- Jan ✔️
- Feb ✔️
- March ✔️
- April ✔️
- May✔️
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
- Butternut Squash Soup (Used for inspiration)
- Pecan-Cinnamon Streusel from this recipe
- November
4 replies on “Self Assignment and Kitchen Fails (w45)”
That quote gives me lots to think about. Thank you for sharing and that quote just might be the reality check I needed.
Honestly.. this quote:
The life that you want is on the other side of the work you’re avoiding.
.. now lives rent free in my head. I also have a habit of saying things like…
“My future self is gonna thank me for this!” And that usually gets my ass in gear. lol
Thank you so much for commenting. It really brings me joy when someone relates the madness I’m attempting to share from my overactive brain.
Just wanted to say I really connected with this post on self-assignment. Thanks for sharing your goals and your progress so honestly — it really helps and inspires me to keep going on my own.
You are so welcome! I love how he phrased it because I never thought about it that way. It was like he put words to what I knew but didn’t know how to articulate.