Tuesday, January 04, 2011

2011 Bucket List

  • Raise at least $5,000.00 for Darfur/women, children, the oppressed, the forgotten.
  • Go camping more than twice.
  • Volunteer at an orphange (if indeed my daughter's youth group settles on this idea as a summer project)
  • Bring outdoor brisk walking back into my life.
  • Talk to God intentionally.
  • Do some volunteering with my children.- Especially my teens. (We've been talking (years now?!) about working at a soup kitchen or something equivalent.- I'm open to suggestions from anyone who lives in the Winnipeg area)
  • Read to my daytime children.
  • Read. Keep reading.
  • Embrace my thrift shopping compulsion as an authentic, harmless, fun part of myself. Do not tame that beast- allow it control me! (sort of)
  • Forgive.
  • Be happy for people. Curb the urge to compare.
  • Enjoy every bite of every delicious food that I eat.
  • Don't cut down on coffee. At all.

Now, these probably look like cleverly masked resolutions. Which, let's not kid ourselves, they pretty much are. But here's my justification: the root word RESOLVE sounds too much like a big time OATH which leaves room for only two options: succeed or fail. Whereas, GOALS are just bright lights in the future to lead the way. They are attainable, they can be postponed or pursued, and they can be partially or fully completed.

For example: if I raise $500.00 this year, it's because I had hopes to raise $5,000.00.

If I walk seven times this year, it's because I admire my mother who has been walking outdoors almost every day without exception since around the time she turned fifty. She's 84 now, and we still haven't found her. I mean, she's still walking outdoors every day. I think that's really cool. If I walk seven times, it's getting me closer to my goal of turning out like my mother. (tiny, plucky, energetic, determined, self-sufficient)

So what do you think? As a fellow resolution hater, do you find yourself leaning into the new year with some renewed goals? I always find that it energizes and encourages me to have a general direction to square my shoulders into. 2011, Here I Come.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like your perspective. I had just read this 5 minutes before and I like it too:
http://www.comfortqueen.com/forget-best-year-bad-idea
I completely resonate with wanting to declare resoluations or goals but also knowing that we lose trust in ourselves when we do not meet them.
Another thing to ponder...
Sara

joyce said...

hi Sara- you made me so happy! I love a number of things that I read on the link you left. I got so happy about mediocrity and "enough-ness" that I went downstairs and sewed something!!

Bril.

Anonymous said...

Yea! I like the message too and it went with your goals:
"Declaring you will do less than your maximum. Then you can stretch without pulling a hamstring."

Something I'm working on is not eroding my trust in myself so I really need to be mindful of sustainability in my life. It keeps me from falling in that pit of self-loathing.

All the best in the new year,
Sara

Karla said...

I want you to get to that orphanage. If I have to give my kids away to an "orphanage" and then have you visit them - it will happen. Can't wait to see you live one of your dreams.

joyce said...

Sara, that was one of the sentences that I particularly liked. I know that "hamstring" feeling and it's not worth setting myself up for again. I'm excited about "Mediocrity"!! otherwise known as "Enough-Ness".

Karla- I so hope the youth leader gets this thing organized. And then there's the awkward question of whether I'd be qualified to join the trip.....

Roo said...

orphanage!!! what orphange?? where? what? when?

janice said...

I have done something on your bucket list!!! You don't know how thrilled I am about that - you super-woman who can leap a hoard of small children in a single bound, while sewing a sexy bag to blog about and sell for a cause!

Two Christmas Eves, we volunteered for http://www.themagicofchristmas.org and dressed up as elves and took gifts around to families. It was very fun and sad and it appears on my kid's (short) resume.

We have also volunteered at numerous races - we have a lot of insane running friends who run marathons and we participated by being race volunteers. Then we became runners. . . and stopped being runners. . . and stopped volunteering together.

Anonymous said...

may i be of some small assistance with your goal list...
I have a thing or 2 from a thrift store to gift you and R. (thrift gifts are very embracing)
and I am very open to a winter walk ... maybe with a flask of red wine!
but shall I hit R/road on Saturday or Sunday.....if you catch my 'vain.
BolerB