Okay, so I obviously have not posted in a really, really long time. It was, in part, due to a dying (and now dead) laptop, but then when I finally did get a new computer (not all that long ago, and that I haven't really developed an affinity for yet), I have had a hard time wanting to sit down and get caught up. It's been one of those things that becomes a huge brick wall in your mind, and then it only gets taller and wider the longer you avoid it, so it eventually feels completely impossible to get to the other side. So, this is me drawing a chalk door on the wall and pushing on through.
This will be the first of quite a few catch-up posts, and then I'll be all current and ready to move forward from a fresh place! I actually have kept my list, movie, and book pages current, and I really have been making progress on the list (albeit slower than I would have liked). In checking through things, I have realized that I am less than halfway through, and that includes all the items that are ongoing things that won't get crossed off until the end. This was an eye-opening moment, and I am going to have to come up with some sort of schedule so I'm not suddenly trying to finish 20 tasks in the last month! I have already decided that if I do this again, I am definitely not going to have so many items that read something like, "complete this activity for one month, five times"! Why did I make this so difficult for myself?!? I guess I thought I was pushing myself past my comfort level, which is supposed to be part of the purpose of this project. Hmph. Still not going to do that, or at least think long and hard about what that means about reaching the goal of actually crossing everything off the list, before I make those kinds of statements again.
Another thing I have noticed in going over my list (besides the number of times I thought, "did I actually put that on my list? I don't remember putting that on my list. do I have early-onset Alzheimer's? because I really don't remember putting that on my list.), is that things that seemed really fun or important at the time I wrote out the list over two years ago, don't necessarily rate as that great now. But they're on the list, so they will get done. My most recent accomplishment definitely qualifies in this category... sending a postcard to PostSecrets (#6). I used to hit that site every Sunday to read the new batch of postcards, but I haven't looked at it in over a year at least. It was such a voyeuristic pleasure! Now I can safely say that I don't much care. But I did send in a secret. And it was the kind of secret that you wouldn't say out loud to anyone. I have to say that it does kind of feel like a little bit of a release to let it go. Like I don't have to use all that energy to keep it inside. So maybe it really was a good thing to have on the list. I just didn't know how good at the time! As for the secret? I'll never tell...
Great to see you back here again. I practically could have written this post myself. It is exactly how I feel about my list.
ReplyDeleteWhat about your photo project? Is that still going on?
I waited until this year to work on my new 101 list because I wanted it to represent where I am now in my life and I was hoping that I would learn some lessons about what not to put on my new list.
I am having a hard time with the photo project, because I keep forgetting to take the pictures! And not because I don't think about it, because there are lots of times that I think "now that would make a great 365 photo!". But I never get around to taking the picture, or it's at a time when I just can't take a picture. I'm working on it, though.
ReplyDeleteSo have you actually started a new list? I've written down some ideas, but it was only because I knew if I didn't write things down as they came to me, I would be kicking myself later for not being able to remember them.
I have written down a few things because I have been thinking about it for the past 7 or 8 months. I don't plan to seriously write anything down until a little later in the year.
ReplyDelete