Welcome back or welcome to another blog post folks. Today, I want to spend time talking about intention, and where I have been missing the mark with my life and this blog.
I’m sure we’ve all had pretty big plans get cancelled this year due to the virus, including bucket list items. For me, I’m postponing my long-awaited and highly anticipated trip to Europe. Years before brainstorming this trip, I’ve been coming up with ideas thinking “that would be cool to do” with no further brainstorming or actual intentions of doing it.
At the end of 2019, I discovered a YouTube channel called Yes Theory by accident. This channel completely changed the way that I view life and how I want to live mine. It breathed a new definition of “Carpe Diem” into me. Sure, you can make the most of every single day we’re given on this planet, but how? According to Yes Theory, you can accomplish this by “seeking discomfort”.
After some self-reflection, I noticed three things with these “that would be cool” thoughts.
- I’m not dreaming big enough. Whenever I am, I never document it.
- I don’t give myself enough credit for the things I’ve done. And…
- I’ve gotten better at this, but I still don’t attempt to carry out my plans because I “wait for the right time” or “I don’t have money”.
So I grabbed a pen and a stack of blue post-it notes where I began to write everything I want to do in my life in the next *ten* years.
- See the Northern Lights
- ATV in the deserts of Morocco or Dubai
- Go on a cruise to Antarctica (I know, but I saw some YT videos and it looks dope)
- Learn how to swim (unrelated to the previous point, but just in case, ya know)
- Visit every single continent (just have S. America, Europe, Australia and Antarctica left) (and layovers don’t count)
- Go to Santorini or Mykonos, Greece with my girls
- Ride in a gondola in Italy
- Visit Vietnam
- Visit Petra in Jordan
- Learn how to play the drums
- Go on a date in Tokyo (cherry blossoms everywhere, sushi on a conveyor belt, picnic in front of the Tokyo Tower) (kind of headass, I know)
- Go to the Taj Mahal
- Swim between the tectonic plates in Iceland
- Climb the Stairway to Heaven in Hawaii (and get over my mild fear of heights)
- See the ancient pyramids in Egypt
- Go skydiving (but not in Minnesota) (who wants to jump out of the sky to just look at squares of farmland?)
- “Hike” Table Mountain in South Africa
- Ride in a train through the mountains of Switzerland
- See the Great Wall of China + The Terra Cotta Warriors
- Go back to Thailand because obviously I’m in love with the place a visit Phuket and the Phi Phi Islands
- Learn to be okay with going out alone (going out to eat, to the movies, etc.)
- See the point of Mount Everest from an airplane
- Have a successful blog (wink wink subscribe y’all)
And this is just what I could think of on the spot. I noticed afterwards that most these are travel-oriented. This makes sense because seeing the world is the 2nd most important thing on my mind, second to graduating from college.
While making this list I felt completely buried in blue post-it notes and I began to think “so what have I even done in these last 21 years?” I think we all understate our accomplishments and experiences sometimes. To remind myself that I am not starting my life of discovery from square one, I grabbed some pink post-its and wrote out the experiences I’ve had that were either crossed off my bucket list or unexpected adventures that made great or funny stories to tell.
Things I have done that I need to acknowledge:
- Hiked the tallest mountain in Thailand (apart of the Himalayas)
- My first NFL game was the SuperBowl where I got on the big screen when Corey Clement hit me and a photographer.
- Stuck my head out of the window while riding in a limo in Times Square
- Participated in a lantern festival for New Years Eve in Chiang Mai
- Road tripped through the South
- Zip-lined through the mountainous jungles of Northern Thailand
- Drove around the cliffs of Beverly Hills (and almost died)
- Saw the world’s most crooked street in San Fran
- Sang (with my choir class) on the red steps in Times Square
- Got food poisoning in Germany (aHaha)
- Got my feet eaten by little fish in Thailand
- Met a monk and learned about Buddhism from him
- Unplugged, drove up to a village in the mountains, and saw every constellation in the sky
- Walked halfway across the Golden Gate Bridge
- Learned the opening number of a Broadway show from the cast
- Met Angela Davis
- Saw the desert of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Had an unplanned “High School Musical” moment when my choir class broke into song and dance at the HardRock Cafe in Chicago (and people actually applauded us lol)
- Taught myself guitar and piano
- and much more that I’m sure I’m forgetting
Once life gets back to normal, let’s actualize the things we’ve thought about doing no matter how unrealistic they seem given your finances or future plans by first acknowledging our biggest dreams.
Carpe Diem Challenge: Grab your paper of choice and write out your own intentions. Think outside of the box. Also watch a YesTheory video while quarantining because they’re amazing.
Carpe Diem – Seize the Day!
Manyi.