Tuesday, July 19, 2005

“This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time.”

I stumbled across a really easy, cheesy site www.43things.com and fell in love with it. Every year, I do this thing where I write up a list of goals (long-term and short-term, super important and really frivolous, some measurable and some intangible) and put it either in my planner or journal. Some years I do it with a friend, and some years I do it alone. I think everybody should do this. Because without time to reflect, its so easy to get stuck “going through the motions” and waking up one day wondering what you are doing with your life and why you are not happy. I think crossing off things on your list is more satisfying than a Snickers bar any day. It sounds so simple but its true.

You know that part in Fight Club when Tyler Durden turns the car around into facing traffic and hits the gas and goes “Guys, what would you wish you'd done before you died?” Unfazed by the potential of death, two of the passengers hypnotized by Project Mayhem answer, “build a house” and “paint a self-portrait.” While the narrator is scared shitless and begs Tyler to turn the car around because he is afraid to die, even if he doesn’t know what he wants to live to do.

Getting your goals in writing helps you clarify what YOU really WANT to do, not what society or anyone else expects you to do. That is the basic principle behind www.43things.com. You can list up to 43 goals, see what other people’s goals are (some may share yours), share your progress, and get inspired (or inspire others yourself.) Sure, it may just be another site to help you procrastinate… but if you were so concerned with time management you wouldn’t be sitting here reading my blog, would you? ;-)

I could easily list 43 things here right now, but I don’t want to bore anyone more than I already do…. So I will list 5 of each (not in order of importance), accomplished and unaccomplished (so far).

Space Cadet’s “things I want to do before I die” list - ACCOMPLISHED
1.) Do international volunteer work
2.) Get a Little Sister
3.) See a doctor and dentist (this was a big deal for me since I lived without health insurance for years)
4.) Do freelance photography
5.) Get a teaching job

“Things I want to do before I die” list – UNACCOMPLISHED
1.) Get my driver’s license (can you believe my spaceship license is invalid here?)
2.) Get my mom to try sushi (she refuses to try raw fish!)
3.) Take flamenco guitar lessons in Andalucia
4.) Go to grad school
5.) Fulfill my mom’s dream and take her to Greece

I would be interested in seeing what other’s goals are, I heard that when you write/verbalize your goals, its easier to stick to them. I encourage you all to do what Tyler did (well, pretend). Pretend you are driving fast into oncoming traffic, you are so close to death, your heart is beating so hard that you feel it bursting through your chest. You see bright lights coming towards you, and you hear a loud honk. The lights are blinding you and the honk is all you hear. You are too shocked to think or take control of the vehicle so you just sit back and watch. You are about to die. What do you wish you did while you were alive?

4 Comments:

At 12:46 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

actually, when you're close to death none of that happens. no heart racing, no shock. not for me at least. sorry space cadet.

i lost control driving going about 85 nestled between two trucks. imminent death. i remember thinking "i guess that's it." everything was frozen. no panic. just utter peace. just waiting.

regarding lists: don't dream, ponder or try. just do - and a list won't be necessary. trust me.

- rockstar

oh, i didn't die in a car accident.

 
At 5:35 PM, Blogger Dev said...

Sure thing Yoda

 
At 6:46 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think Yoda is a foot taller than you.

 
At 4:40 PM, Blogger Unknown said...

So many blogs and only 10 numbers to rate them. I'll have to give you a 8 because you have good content.

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