Sunday, 4 October 2009

Pick and Mix Wishes


I stole this idea from BakerGirl who writes the immensely readable An Extended Vacation, about the trials and triumphs of seeking your own way, and who originally posted it in the spirit of Yom Kippur. As soon as I read her post, I knew I needed to do something similar, and so here it is:

I want to have the self belief to follow my own path.
I want to find a balance between my creative, analytic and business interests.
I want to design my own kick ass self hosted blog site.
I want to make the people I love proud.
I want to make people laugh.
I want to learn and create, and then show other people how to do these things.
I want to make a living doing something I enjoy and that fulfils me, rather than something I find insufferable.
I want this to involve elements of design, writing and photography.
I want to be a fantastic Publicity Officer for Worthing Samaritans.
I want to go back to China. I want to travel to India.
I want to be curious about my everyday surroundings.
I want to be curious about everything.
I want to be willing to eat donkey chow mein, and sparrow, and to try all sorts of new things.
I want to do things even if I’m scared. (Apart from stuff like jumping into shark tanks at the aquarium, where clearly you are scared for a good reason.)
I want to offer to people the emotional support they’ve shown to me.
I want to concentrate on opportunities rather than bewailing misfortune.
I want to spend time in nature.
I want to have my own business.
I want a functional, supportive and honest relationship.
I want to seek out and get to know people with whom I have real interests in common.
I want to be in control of my life (as far as is cosmically possible).
I want to enjoy my life.

Strangely, I found writing this quite liberating. Aren’t so many of us told as children that ‘I want doesn’t get’ and not to nag for things, and then as we become adults (perhaps a slower process for some of us than others!) are told that we should put others first, or learn that saying what you really want from life is likely to met with derision at worst and a well meant attempt to talk you out of it at best.
I need to say I want out loud and have the conviction to follow through with it, even if it risks failure and embarrassment.

7 comments:

  1. There's nothing wrong with having goals, and yours are all admirable. You mention curiosity - and that is, I think, the key to adventure and learning, exploring and finding. Good luck with it all.

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  2. I think it's a great idea to write out what you want and have those things clearly in mind, maybe even tacked onto your bulletin board. Then everything you do, every choice you make, will, we hope, be a little step toward accomplishing those goals. Don't ever give up. You are very talented and you can achieve your goals.

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  3. I love that you tried your hand with this topic too! I got the idea from MJ who has an excellent blog also. Your goals are excellent and meaningful, just keep working at them!

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  4. Janie - as long as I don't take curiosity angle of one of my cats, who mainly seems curious about what would happen if he leapt out of a second storey window onto a patio. ;) Seriously, I think curiosity is so important, and I find it frustrating how this isn't always reflected in the education system.

    Pat - Thanks - very good advice. I'll print out the list to remind myself to keep going and to keep making the small steps.

    BakerGirl - It's a great topic, I must tell MJ how inspired I was.

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  5. What I noticed about your list is that the goals are attainable and realistic which is a good thing.

    I've often wondered why they took curiosity out of school.

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  6. I like your style, this is a neat idea to have in writing. Things have changed so much for me this year that I think doing a similar thing would probably be quite productive. You sound liberated!
    P.S. On a wholly less spiritually satisfying note, I'm glad my last photo reminded you of the Boosh Moon... Love it.

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  7. mountain mama - well, I'd also like several million pounds and johnny depp, but thought, one thing at a time! ;)

    SP - Do it. I found this really helpful, as I'm so inclined to be a bit woolly and imprecise.

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