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Just what I needed: an e-mail encouraging me to set goals for myself. Chris Baty, the man behind the National Novel Writing in a Month movement, has thrown down another gauntlet-The Second Annual Big, Fun, Scary Adventure Challenge. His missive encourages me to make a list of things I’ve dreamed about doing, making, or being, for a long time. “Hard-nosed acts of practical skill-acquisition, such as becoming a ninja…or going back to school and getting a degree in business administration.” He promises if I accomplish my 2008 goals, he’ll send a certificate verifying my success.
Participants in last year’s Big, Fun, Scary Adventure Challenge learned to speak Spanish, paint, tango and blog. Others “mended fences with estranged family members, explored the Amazon in dugout canoes, hiked the Great Wall of China and made daunting leaps from soul-snuffing jobs to careers closer to our hearts.” Wow! Over-achievers, one and all.
This is the time of year people set goals, make resolutions and try to improve themselves. A time when some of us are forced to admit our best intentions for the year just past remained only that-good intentions. Come the first of January, we all face the harsh reality that time’s a-wastin’. A newly released movie starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman attests to that. It is the story of two men dying of cancer who decide to complete their bucket list. Promotional clips show Nicholson and Freeman sky-diving, a feat I wouldn’t try if I was eyeball to eyeball with Saint Peter himself.
Lots of people make bucket lists-things they want to do before they kick the bucket. Thirty-year-old Gina, whose goal is listed on the Web site, 2dobeforeIdie, desires to conquer her fear of nudity. That puts sky-diving and other life-threatening insurance risks in a more favorable light, doesn’t it?
I decided to delve further. An Internet search led to journalist Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute who asked media friends what would be on their bucket list. Their replies ran the gamut from competing in an Ironman competition to creating a scholarship fund, visiting different countries and learning another language. Thankfully, Tompkins never asked what I hope to accomplish before I’m pushing up daisies. Getting the laundry washed and cleaning the refrigerator would have paled alongside being a life-altering mentor for a child. Pity the youth I take under my wing. My idea of a life-altering experience for the poor kid would be to eat our way through every restaurant in the Twin Cities.
As for travel, I hate to fly. That makes me a poor candidate for the book, One Hundred Things to do before You Die by Dave Freeman and Neil Teplica. Subtitled Travel Events You Just Can’t Miss, their book suggests attending the Academy Awards. What would I wear? I’d have to nix the Iditarod dog sled races. Anything with the word extreme or stampede in its title would be off-limits, too. I could see myself participating in (and winning) the National Hollerin? Contest, but I’d be a no-show at the cow chip throwing event.
Searching the Internet for more ideas, I found life coach Grant Thorpe’s list of 100 things to try before you die. He suggests learning how to complain effectively. That goes hand in hand with hollering, so I can say I’ve accomplished both. Number 22, forgiving our parents, seems safer than jumping from an airplane or buckling a seatbelt in preparation for liftoff. Number 100 is “Accept yourself for who you really are.” Hmm…the dog sled race might be easier. Mush!