Setting and meeting goals

Thanks to constant prodding from Ian, I finally did a very interesting thing this year: I started an actual, pen-to-paper To Do List. Some of you may find that surprising, knowing as you do that I am constantly busy with fun and exciting crafts, projects, trips and activities. For years I kept all these things pinging around in my brain and usually only wrote a few things down at any given point in time. Why, you may ask, would someone as organized as myself, be hesitant to make a To Do List?

The truth is, I was scared. There are SO MANY things I want to do that I thought I would be overwhelmed if I were to actually sit and write them down. How was I possibly going to function when I looked at this seemingly never-ending list? Wouldn't I just shut down under the unbearable pressure of not being able to ever finish my list? Better to just let things fall in and out of my attention then to be faced with concrete evidence of my desires.


That, of course, is stressful. I was constantly feeling like I was forgetting things (which, of course, I was!). And it was hard for me to say "no" to unimportant things if I didn't have a tangible excuse. Or, more importantly, it was hard for me to make time for the things I really wanted to do, like pottery and knitting classes. It was also very hard for me to quantify my actual progress if I just kept pulling new activities out of my brain.


So I started a list. Of course, being me, it was a very organized list with categories, deadline, status and priorities. At first I was a bit overwhelmed, as I expected. I had decided to just do one year at a time instead of listing all the things I ever wanted to do. Even a year-long list was a bit daunting. But an amazing thing happened: I felt a wonderful sense of accomplishment when I crossed things off! I was able to track progress by seeing all the things I've managed to do already and felt empowered to do the things still pending. And it really helped me focus on the things that I feel are important, which is incredibly rewarding!

That being said, there was one thing that I really wanted to put on my list, but didn't. I had thought about it, and really wanted to do it, and knew it was something I should put on the list, but I was afraid that I wouldn't really get around to doing it and if I put it on the list and didn't do it I would view it as a failure. I wanted to take part in a 5K race. I don't have any problem pushing myself in work or the arts, but for some reason I hesitate to push myself physically.

When this idea popped back into my head a few weeks ago, I finally decided to just make the commitment and sign up for a race. After a bit of online searching I found that the Mystic Aquarium has a 5K Run/Walk for the Penguins in October. I am always happy to support the Aquarium and figured that October would give me plenty of time to prepare. So I signed up! I never really saw myself as the kind of person who does races. But there was also a time when I was not the kind of person who traveled overseas or climbed to Machu Picchu, so there's no reason to limit my definition of myself!

If you have any 5K training advice or experience, I'm happy to hear it! You can also check out my Race website at www.firstgiving.com/skyetyler. I'm going to keep you posted on my training progress, so there is a real sense of accountability!