WIGS

Goals. I love making goals. I don't know why, when I never end up keeping them and just feel frustrated at falling short of my ideals. But the idea, the concept of getting better, the thought of progression, is too enticing to wholly give up on, and I always seem to end up back at the "drawing board," planning out the lines and points that will eventually get me to where I want to be. I make goals about things I want to do, places I want to go, projects I want to accomplish, books I want to read, exercise, spiritual practices, how much water I'm gonna drink...it's so hard, even though water is key!!!

Anyway, in this book I read a few years ago, the author talks about "Wildly Improbable Goals," and every time I look through that section of the book I get a tinge of excitement at the prospect of setting these goals and seeing them happen. Cause these aren't your ordinary, week-to-week goals. The purpose is to use the goals to find and do that which, deep down, you're burning to do, to live and accomplish things that you're passionate about, even if you don't know it. So I was looking at the book again today, and felt like I needed to set a few more of these goals. I'm at quite the cross-road in my life, and am about to set off on a path to purpose and fulfillment, and I think getting in touch with these deep-rooted dreams will help guide me along. But first I wanted to post my old goals, because its neat to me to see that some goals never change, and also that some have come true. So on March 17, 2006, I made the following goals:

1. Join the folk dance team and perform (completed in 2007)
2. Perform 3 songs that I wrote (I've never "performed" anywhere, but I have played some of my songs for friends
3. Go backpacking in Alaska (not done, but looking likely this summer!)
4. Travel Europe
5. Be part of a humanitarian effort

I added a couple more sometime this year, written in my book somewhat hastily:

Go to Hawaii (Liz, I think that's when we were planning on going..how dare you go without me?!)
Learn to play the cello
Go back to Albania
Run a half marathon
Folk Music

The last one is something need to focus on now. All of a sudden, I have this great desire again to play my violin, and get really good at it. I love it. I just hate that I suck at it, but that's not gonna stop me! I don't really know what goal to set; the book says to find things that you absolutely love and then make goals that are nigh unto impossible regarding those things. hmmm. So things I love and wanted to focus on are:

again, the guitar and writing songs
violin
dance...and actually choreographing dances, which is ridiculous and I can't do it, but I want to. When I see some forms of dance, or hear certain music, I just wish I could dance and fly and express what I feel...
snowboarding
languages-I think I need to focus on Spanish and really learn it
and then something, something to help, some way I can hear about problems in the world and not just feel paralyzed with frustration and helplessness, but actually contribute to a solution.

Vague. Very vague. Maybe I should have waited till I had some actual, specific goal to accomplish these things. But this'll help get me there, I think. So it also says in the book that when you make these goals, then you start to be drawn to things that lead you to your goal, or you're made aware of opportunities, and if anyone has advice or knows of something that'll point me in the right direction, lemme know! I'll do the same for you if given a glimpse of your dreams.

Last quote that I love from this book:
"Your mission in life is where your deep joy and the world's deep hunger meet" ~Richard Bolles