Want to add excitement to your daily grind?
You can.
Choose to have one new experience every month.
After failing, for two years, to live by my Keep It Simple (KIS) theme, when 2011 rolled in, I realized life is too short…change your theme!
Mind you, a theme is different than a goal. They way I see it, the former is the guiding principle by which you choose to live during the year.
For 2011, my theme is: HAVE ONE NEW EXPERIENCE EVERY MONTH–something I’ve never done before.
Without realizing it, I now have something exciting, new, and different, to look forward to every month.
We’re already one-third into the month of May and I anticipate what NEW experience I will have.
- My neighbor suggests I soar in a glider.
- My book club suggests I eat something new. (I’m challenged to think of something … I’ve never eaten kangaroo meat. See next item.)
- I’ve never been to Florida…then again; I’ve never been to Australia, either.
I’m searching…
The first four months of 2011 had me:
January
Defining my new theme for the year. Hey for someone who works hard because she can’t take LIFE easy, this is a major step!
February
Running 20 miles – the farthest I’ve traveled by foot in five-and-a-half hours.
March
Running my first organized race – a 5K.
The following day and during one of Los Angeles’ worst storms, I ran my first ever marathon (26.2 miles). This is the longest I’ve traveled on foot in one day.
April
Having a healing session with a Peruvian Shaman.
Attending Easter services at Our Lady of the Angels, a new cathedral in downtown Los Angeles, which I ran near during the marathon.
On the way home, I noticed the new Armenian Church [8/20/2024 TCV Update: URL no longer operational] was still holding Mass. There were so many attending they stood outside the church doors. I tuned into a live feed of the Easter Mass and Remembrance Day (commemorating the Armenian Genocide that both my parents survived).
My husband and I are astounded by today’s technology. Here we are on the Golden State freeway, watching and listening to a live event. I’m viewing the mass on my smart phone and David is driving while we listen to the audio feeding wirelessly (via Sync) through the car speakers. How amazing is that?
Who would imagine the day when we could watch a live feed of an event, take pictures or video, manage our files, contacts, and calendar…oh, and make phone calls–some with video–with these little hand-held devices? Some even include a flashlight!
Taking it a step further, will our hand-held devices allow us to travel in time? Just as we enter GPS coordinates and are directed to the location, might we be able to enter a time and place and then witness history or the future first-hand?
I digress.
Returning to the present, I need to agree to do something new this month.
Do you have any ideas?
This is a truly energizing theme for the year. The activities don’t all have to be major events. They can be simple and easily squeezed into your monthly schedule. There’s something exciting about anticipating a new experience.
Would you like to join me?
May
June
July
August: Visiting Wisconsin & Illinois; so, a new experience in the Midwest.
September: Climb to the top of the top of Mt. Whitney using the Mountaineers Route.
October
November
December
I’ll write about these adventures throughout the year; so, be sure to offer your suggestions in the comments below. Let’s brainstorm something FUN and easy we all can do.
With a ZEST for life amidst the busyness.
Pingback: The Leadership Blog by Ann Vanino
Bucket list:
August – Wisconsin, is that in the US?
Sept – Will you be wearing a helmet? Is the 10 hour estimate (web link) a one-way, or round trip time?
Oct – Remember the Octoberfest! We can do that one.
D, FUNNY FUNNY.
And YES, Wisconsin is in the Middle of the U.S.
Oktoberfest sounds GREAT…Actually, I’m also trying to arrange my first-ever trip to Florida sometime in October–to present two speeches.
Have been to or through about 40 of the 50 states — need to visit Florida, Alaska, Montana, Connecticut, Arkansas, and a few more.