The #s list...30x30 (Thirty by Thirty)...or whatever number you're approaching

I have to admit wholeheartedly that this was not my idea but I wish it were. 

I have great friends.  I have the type of friends that are with you for a lifetime.  I have the type of friends that get together and don't just talk about surface level stuff (even though we haven't talked in a while, seen each other in a while or caught up in a while), we talk about the real stuff.  We talk about our goals and dreams and where we came from and where we're going.  Luckily, since we came from a lot of the same stuff, we can focus more on where we're going, and that's just fine with me.  I think sometimes we can get stagnant with our friendships and become stuck in a moment and don't continue forward.  I'm lucky to say that that's not my situation.

So my group of friends (that I've known for most of my life, at this point), got together around this time last year.  A traditional gathering and talking and eating (we like this sort of enjoying one another's company, thing).  One friend decided to share with us her newest "thing." 

That "thing" is the 30x30.  That thing has gotten me going on a whole lot, gotten me into a whole lot and gotten me through a whole lot.

It seems like a pretty simple concept;  You choose some sort of life marker, in this case, most of us will turn the big 3-0 in the next few years, and you match that number with an equal number of things you want to do, places you want to go, things you want to accomplish, etc.  It's simple because it's a "bucket list" of sorts, and we all have things that we want to do that we haven't done yet, or that we'd like to do again. It's simple because it's yours, so you can make up the rules as you go.

It's NOT simple because once you write something down, it's actually real.  It's no longer on that hypothetical list of things you want to do...it's actually on a list...like...a 'take-out-the-pen-and-start-crossing-that-stuff-off-because-you-hate-to-have-things-left-over-on-your-to-do-list' sort of lists.  I LOVE IT.  Some of mine are challenging, some of them I could do last-minute if I really wanted to.  Making the list was tough at first, trying to figure out what exactly was list-worthy, until you figure out that ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that you want to do...it should go on that list.

This isn't a new phenomenon, either.  I got a few of my ideas and made them my own from reading blogs on the topic posted by other people who had the idea first.  My friends have made blogs in the past year in order to track their progress and to share it with the rest of us to stay honest and to keep on top of it.

What I love about it is that it gives me purpose.  Even when other things that I have to do or that come up seem to drag me down, I look at that list and say...well you know what, I gotta' do this thing in order to do this OTHER thing that I WANT to do.  And then I do it.  It's completely mental, I know, but it works.  I've found some solice in knowing that I have some things that I WANT and that they may be trivial or silly to other people because they're so common for them, or they may be crazy for other people because "Hell no" they aren't going to jump out of an airplane.  THAT'S WHAT IS SO AWESOME ABOUT THIS THING.  It's YOURS. 

So I'm going to share my list with you, and what I've accomplished thus far to help you get started.  But seriously...don't just say "I should write one of those": DO IT.  I wrote mine in my phone so that whenever I thought of a new idea I could add it to my list and whenever I need a reminder of what I want to do, I bust it out, and whenever people need something to focus on to get through their tough days, I tell them about my list and encourage them to write one.

I encourage you to try to write one before you read another one.  See how far you get, and THEN check out the others.  This was a good way for me to not judge myself and my desires against others.  But of course, other people had some rockin' ideas that really aligned with mine once I had (temporarily) run low. 

The thing is...it's not worth it to live life with a bucket list...you don't know when you're gonna' go. And saying "I'll do it someday before I die is like saying...I have no real hope or pursuit of this desire planned for action."  So don't make a bucket list...make a #s list.  Set a goal to reach x number of objectives in x amount of time.  You do this in your job and in the things that you HAVE to do in life and those things seem to get accomplished just fine, so why not do it with what you WANT to do?  And then do it! 

See my next post on MY list when you're ready to see some extra ideas for your list.