A couple of years ago, just a few months before I turned 36, I woke one day feeling burnt out from work and having moved across the country. But I also woke up feeling the need to do something, assessing my current life which was a vicious cycle of work, work and maybe a social engagement, then more work. I rarely had time, or energy for anything else. In my mind I had this ongoing list of things I wanted to do, I’m sure most of us do. But the list was haunting me.
And then a year later I quit my job. Not to pursue this list, but to set my priorities straight. I sat down, I made the list and I checked it twice. But I didn’t get around to working on it.
So what happened? I ran out of time, we bought and renovated a home. I went back to work, on my own terms. And, the worst, I had no accountability - my list lived in Excel!
With help from some friends who pushed me to pursue this, 40 goals to 40 started to take shape. This is a compilation of things I’ve always wanted to do (see: accomplish) or activities I used to do as a kid that I want to pick up on again, some of the items are old new year's resolutions - those pesky things we never get around to right? While the list is long, I've had a chance to cross some items off, and to be honest, it’s 20 something years in the making, it better be a long list.
So what's on this list? Lots of things, but here's a sample: I used to read 1-2 books each week all the way through college. I kind of dropped that after the Twilight series (don’t judge!) and have been longing to get lost in book again. I used to sew, anything from pillows to skirts. It was my creative escape, a skill that my mom taught me, I want to recapture it. I want to learn how to swim! I grew up in Southern California and I never quite learned how to really really swim - apparently what I have been calling “swimming” is more like a frog swim. These are just some of the many things on my list.
Why Mind, Body, Soul and Wander? When I was looking at past new years resolutions and some early #my40to40 goals, I felt like I needed to make sure I did enough for each section, this way, I can make sure I have a decent balance. Otherwise I'd probably end up with a disproportionate list of just Wander!
Now here we are, hope you’ll follow along with me for fun, maybe some tears, and some laughs. Maybe you’ll join me on some of these adventures?
Xo-
B