A life list (some call it a "bucket list"--as in things one wants to do before s/he kicks the bucket) is taped to my bedroom wall and each New Year's Day I untape it and have a look at it. Now, writing a list such as mine is done by millions of people all over the world and good for them. Good for us. But New Years' Resolutions are most often, short-lived dreams. I don't know how many diets begin on January 1 of every year, but I'll bet there are zillions. And I know for a fact that most gym memberships begin (and then end) in January. Some people do end up losing and gaining that same 15 pounds every year...but at what expense, really?
The problem with goals set for the sake of setting them, is they aren't real and they only end up making us feel worse about ourselves for NOT achieving them. What makes my list special is not its contents--things like "trip to Ireland" and "ride a train to NYC and ice skate in Rockefeller Center"-- it's that I actually DO them. They aren't pie in-the-sky aspirations like jumping from an airplane or discovering the cure for cancer...they are, instead, practical, and achievable. Some might say "wholesome." And they aren't related to losing weight or getting more exercise or eating better, they also contain some character-building ones such as "forgive people who wrong me" and "extend the olive branch" that sort of thing and frankly, much harder for many of us to actually achieve than shedding those few pounds or taking a trip.
Of course, as the year goes on, I do check off the ones I accomplish so its a never-ending sort of list. But as god-awful a thing as a"never-ending list" sounds, it really is good to have goals in life...ones that are attainable...you know SMART ones and I really can't remember what most of the letters stand for, but M stands for measurable and A is for achievable and, by the gods, measurable and achievable are good enough for me. I can do something with them. As can you.
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