Life List

Michael Moniz (Living Life Out Loud) recently posted his life list, a list of goals he’d like to accomplish in this life. He invited his readers to make and post their own life lists, so I thought I’d share some of the items on mine, in no particular order:

• Raise children
• Enlarge my coaching practice
• Learn to spin fire poi
• Lead, facilitate and/or start an event that combines drumming, ecstatic dance and neo-pagan ritual
• Reach our long-term financial and retirement goals together with my husband
• Grow my own heirloom tomatoes
• Go to Bali, France, Italy and Australia
• Go backpacking overnight by myself
• Learn the didgeridoo, Native American flute or another instrument besides percussion
• See the Grand Canyon
• Learn to waltz (or another partnered ballroom dance)
• Create a dedicated sacred space for dance and ritual in my home, and make it beautiful
• Marble paper or cloth
• Dedicate time to ongoing volunteer work
• Learn calculus
• Play with a giant taiko drum

Wow, I have so many things I want to learn or see in this lifetime! I am working on several of them right now. Since many of these are so big, however, and since there are a lot, time management tools will need to be applied. I wouldn’t want to try to make active progress on them all at once. That would dilute my energy and take more time and energy than I have to invest. I have them tracked on a Someday list though — my list of projects large and small that I want to accomplish someday, but to which I am not currently committing time and energy. Looking at the list, though, gets me excited. Tracking these goals on a list also help me reassure my subconscious mind that even though I am not trying to accomplish all of these goals RIGHT NOW, I am still commited to them (though they may change over time). In this way, I can feel more at peace about the choices I am making right now about how I use my time and energy.

Have you set any lifelong goals for yourself, large or small? If so, I invite you to write them down in a list and share it with someone you know. Sharing goals with supportive people can go a long way because it provides you with accountability – someone who witnesses your intention, notices your progress, and can cheer you on or check in with you to help you stay true to your goal. And who knows what inspiration or support your friends might have for some of your ideas?