Spring has arrived and we unwrap ourselves from the cocoons created during the cold weather. As the sun warms our thoughts turn to new beginnings, spring cleaning, getting ourselves back into action.
In my world yet another birthday is rapidly approaching. Not as significant as a birthday with a “0” but a midpoint “5” is still pause for serious thought. As regular readers will remember this blog was born out of the mid-life crisis as I turned 44. Forget the biological clock this was the “my life is half over and I haven’t achieved what I set out to do” clock which was ticking furiously in my head.
I set up the blog and created my own special “Project 44” with a list of things I wanted to achieve.
Now, with just under three months left I’m struggling. Have I achieved anything on my list? Not really. Have I made significant progress in certain areas? Yes. Can I pull through in the last 12 weeks and ACTUALLY FINISH a few things, I really hope so.
I’m pondering the value of setting yourself goals and challenges. Although I still believe writing down what you want to achieve is a valuable tool my year in blogging land as made me realise that sometimes setting yourself challenges and then failing them can leave you feeling even worse than when you started. There are SO MANY projects/challenges/30 days of this etc etc in blogging world. If you signed up for everything you would never have time for a life.
Some of the challenges worked well for me. The write a blog post every day with NaBloPoMo which I did the very first month of blogging was instrumental in getting me into the habit of blogging. It was a challenge I achieved and it was the first time I ever really believed in that saying of doing something every day for 21 days turns it into a habit. It was true I got into the groove of it and it worked well. (They run that challenge every month by the way).
Although I haven’t reached the other goals yet, the exercise of publicly declaring what I wanted has seen me working towards their achievement. Each attempt has taught me something about myself and taken me a little closer to either completing the challenge or redefining whether the goal is actually the right one for me.
Are you a goal setter?
This week I’ve been looking at some of the goals other bloggers have set themselves. Karen Andrews has a living list which she methodically plugs away at, while Lesley Carter has built an entire blog around the concept of a yearly bucket list. Operating at warp speed Lesley has enjoyed enormous success with her blog, achieved just about everything on this year’s bucket list and given birth to a baby!
As I refocus for a late run burst at my own Project 44 (I always work best under pressure) I think about whether I should create a bucket list/living list/50 things to do before 50 list. Do you have such a list? Does it make you keep yourself on track for achieving what you want in life rather than become submerged under the pressure of daily life?
What sort of things would you put on such list?
I think you hit it on the head – with so many challenges, if you did everything you wouldn’t have time to live, so you have to pick and choose what you take part in. I keep falling down after the first few days of FMSphotoaday, even though I knocked the first 3 months out of the ball park. for me, I think that following prompts is an awesome idea, but some days I struggle to fill the prompt when all we do is stay at home day after day after day!
good luck finishing your project! (my blog is littered with many un-finished and un-reached goals, it’s part of who I am!)
I’m hanging in there Cate! Yes like you I give FMSphotoaday a go and always start to struggle after the first few days!
That was a very ambitious list! Finish a house and a novel!!?? Wowzers. I am super impressed with your winnings. I’d retire from all attempts to achieve anything if I’d won that swag. I plan to write a bucket list in about a year 🙂
It’s gotta be bad that I’m scared to make a list because I don’t want to disappoint myself, because without a list there’s really no where to start…
hi janine – your posting is still not updating on my blogger page. i have to click and see what you are up to.
i love goals, but fairly close in time. i post them on my bathroom mirror, and they come true! run a marathon, check. have a family dinner 3+ times per week, check. date my husband, check. but when one changes, like say, i’m not interested in meeting the “home-cooked meals” goal – i just rewrite my goals to show what i DO want, and post them on the mirror. worth a try?
i’m so very happy you created your goals and shared them! they were crazy big and aggressive, but worthwhile. if you want to keep them, just break them into small bites and do the small ones.
joy and happy to know you, n
Hi Janine, I wanted to stop by and personally thank you for RTing my Claire Cook post because your profile description cracked me up. Don’t worry, I’m a wannabe blogger with an untidy house and no celebrity friends — in Hollywood! No excuses for me 🙂
Just wanted to encourage you to keep blogging. In my first year of blogging, I continually compared myself to other bloggers and set the bar too high. Now, in my second year, I’ve settled down to blogging as it should be — a form of self-expression and self-exploration. I have goals, but they’re creative and loose. (Not — “optimize blog for SEO” — blech!)
Good luck, you’re doing great!
Thank you for stopping by Debra – I can’t believe you live in Hollywood and don’t have Brad Pitt over for dinner every second week! I love your blog btw, have been meaning to write a post about achieving success later in life and include a link to your blog – it is giving me no end of encouragement to hear the stories of people who made it after 40.