“1.) Go to my dad’s homeland of Budapest, Hungary.

2.) Run a 5k.

3.) Live on the West Coast of the United States….”

I sat in awe as I recently read over some of my list in which I had entitled “Things that I want to accomplish before the age of 30.”  A few of the items on the list that I had numbered to 10 didn’t occur, but I smiled to myself as I realized that I was able to check off more than half of them.  We have all heard it before I am sure, so many self-help guides and motivational speakers talk about the power of writing things down and then watching how they manifest, but to actually see that it has happened is a very magical feeling.  Holding that list in my hands was proof that this idea really had come true for me.

To think that at one point I held such anxiety thinking about how many things that I wanted to accomplish in my life and having fear that none of them would happen.  And then I looked over this old list I had written down and it hit me that a lot of that anxiety was a waste because the experiences that I wanted, had happened.  Here was the kicker though…I got some of those experiences that I always wanted, but I found out that I didn’t even necessarily like the specific experience or it didn’t give me the feeling that I thought I was looking for.  The biggest thing that I discovered was that no matter what, they were all just passing experiences.

Most currently I have decided to write down a six month plan as taken from Timothy Ferriss’ “The Four Hour Work Week.”  In it, he suggests writing down six different things that you want to “be, do or have” and then from that list, pick just a few.  I think breaking it down like that makes a goal seem a lot more attainable.  There is also more of a focus, I can get into so many different things at one time that I find it best to just go after a few clearly defined goals.  On mostly a daily basis I have been writing three intentions that I have for either that day or the following day and they can be as simple as “tomorrow I intend to go on a three mile run.”  I find in doing this, that more often than not I accomplish all of those intentions.

There is something truly powerful about taking a pen to a piece of paper and writing down what it is that you want to be, do, or have.  It is definitely a forgotten practice in our busy technology-focused world.  I am very grateful to be taking the time to take up this wonderful practice again.  I have taken it a bit further too…every Sunday I have been writing down what I would like to accomplish for the week ahead and on the last day of the month I have been writing down three things that I would like to accomplish for the next month.

Anyhow, hope you can give this wonderful practice a shot and please share with me any of your experiences.

Peace :)!