On Lists, Birthdays, and Time
Published by Laya under 30 by 30, 30 in 30, 40 by 40, Projects on September 4, 2008My 30 in 30 project is going pretty well. I have a lot of things to do scheduled throughout the month. It seems like, since I’ve opened myself to trying lots of new things, opportunities have been popping up all over the place. I believe in momentum and attraction - that when you are aligned and focused on something, the Universe starts lining up to give you what you want (positively and negatively).
So I was thinking. (I do that a lot.) I turn 30 on July 31, 2009 - that’s 330 days from now (hee!). What if, in addition to 30 new things in 30 days, I made a list of 30 things to do before I turn 30? Of course, the first few things I thought of doing were of the “must do before I die” variety, or the “too big to do in such a time period” variety, or the “too expensive to raise enough capital to do” variety. Mind you, this isn’t me limiting myself, but rather me being realistic. (Somewhere in the world there’s a personal development blogger that just woke up in a cold sweat. “Someone’s doubting their potential!”)
Solution! I’m going to make two lists. The first - 30 by 30: thirty things of a manageable size and scope (and at least a couple of the “shoot for the moon” variety) that I want to accomplish between now and my 30th birthday. The second - 40 by 40: forty big, huge, change-of-life type things that I want to accomplish before I turn 40. This is where I’ll put the really big things, the do-them-before-I-die things, and the oh-my-God-I’m-terrified-of-doing-this things.
I have a long and storied history of making these sorts of lists, getting super excited and motivated, and then not seeing them through to the end. Anyone ever heard of 101 Thing in 1001 Days? Yeah - as many of my Lj friends know, I’ve made at least two of those, and haven’t completed ne’er one.
I think it’s the scale that ultimately discourages me. I am but a small and lowly human making my way through life, and thinking about time on a large scale makes me feel even more insignificant. I can barely wrap my head around the fact that I’m almost 30, let alone thinking abut what I’m going to accomplish in 1001 days.
So why am I so comfortable with 30 by 30 and 40 by 40? Well, I’m not, not really. What I am feeling is feeling is flush with relative success, since 30 in 30 is going so well (so far). I’m also feeling some good old-fashioned pressure, but it’s the good kind. I’m tired of sitting back and complaining about not accomplishing the things I want to do in my life, so I figure this is one way I can motivate myself.
And I like making lists.
So wish me luck, all. I’m going to brainstorm over the weekend, and post 30 by 30 on Monday and 40 by 40 on Tuesday. In the meantime, I’m going to steal an idea from Havi Brooks and use Fridays as my “this is what my week has been” day. Until then…
What are you doing the weekend of Sept 13?
I have some ideas, but nothing definite. Why, what’s up?
Well I am thinking about requesting your presence for a small celebration of my Birthday.
I like your philosophy about this, I think I’m able to relate a little to it, because (god willing) I will fulfilling one my goals next month (moving to California). My new years resolution was to at least visit California before 2009 (and I’ll be doing that if not more). Also I had set a goal earlier on saying that I would get my Bachelor’s before I’m 30, and I got my B.S. on my dinning table as we speak =).
I have never thought to trying goal setting in such a short period of time (30 in 30), so I’m very interested in following your adventure and see how it will go. And I’ll to contribute in any way I can to help you archive it =)
It was awesome seeing you at the talk yesterday.
Have a good weekend.
Let me know the details when you have them. I’ve overextended myself a bit financially, but hopefully things will look a litte better by the time that weekend rolls around.
It was good seeing you too! Thanks for the heads up in the first place - that talk was really, really awesome.
Honestly, you’re doing something that a part of me has wanted to do for a while - getting out of Baltimore and pursuing your goals. My buggest problem is that I don’t know exactly what I want to do with myself. The farther I go the more I realize that I may be meant to do a little bit of everything - that I’m never going to be able to settle on just one thing.
As for this whole project, the idea for a 30 day timeline came from several personal development blogs I read - especially Steve Pavlina. He is a big believer in changing your habits - letting go of destructive ones and starting healthier ones. He talks about trying something new for 30 days and then evaluating your progress. The time period is short enough that it’s not overwhelming, but long enough for you to develop the behaviors into a lasting habit. He talks about it all in depth here. Check out his site - I’ve gotten an awful lot of good out of it.
I think what’s making my “getting out of Baltimore” easier, is the fact that I’m doing it with a friend, so its not as frighting. Maybe instead of uprooting to a new place, you should try visiting. Gather a bunch of friends and visit another sate, go to New York or a weekend or something like that, maybe you’ll find something you want to do there =)
Events are a big thing too, find a wicked cool even that is outside of Baltimore and take a friend to it, you’ll never know, maybe it’ll inspired you to start another list of things to do.
Thanks for the links, I will make sure to check them out when I get a chance.
Have a good weekend.
Later.
Add A Comment