What to do!!!!

What am I going to do! I've been playing chess for years and I'm getting destroyed because I can't make a move without a consequence!!!! That's life I guess, make one mistake and they start to add up in the end. I've even sent a small message to a person I was playing chess with and they asked if I was ready to be "owned". I've tried and I've tried. But no matter how hard I try I keep getting worse at chess! HELP!!!!!