When I saw The Last Lecture awhile ago, I was jealous of Randy Pausch and how clearly defined his goals always were. I never had clearly defined goals or ambitions growing up. I had no idea what I wanted to do. Instead of wallowing in envy, though, I decided to start making it clearer to myself what exactly I want to do and how I’m going to get there. Even though the financial crisis has hit me pretty hard, I’m probably happier than I’ve ever been. With these goals (and the plans to achieve them), my future looks brighter than it’s ever been.
I think it’s good to talk about these things and share them.
Mine:
Get a masters degree or PhD I want to be a college professor, as my career, and I need one of these to get there. I only wanted a masters but a few of my professors have been aggressively pushing me towards going straight for a PhD
Be an instructor or counselor at a fitness camp in the northeast Yeah, it sounds weird, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Eventually I’d like to be in a position to take summers off of work, and this is what I’d do with at least a couple of my summers. This is actually downgraded from the goal “own a fitness camp in the northeast,” but I honestly think after a lot of reflection that this will be better.
Hike the Appalachian Trail This came really really close to happening in 2007, but fell apart due to 2 unforeseeable and unlikely circumstances happening at once. Now I don’t know how or when it will ever happen, but I’m not giving up on it.
Make a feature documentary I love documentary film and have a really strong desire to make my own.
Act in a major studio picture Ok, this one sounds tough, but I just have a weird feeling I’m going to pull it off one day.
Get my kids through college Might turn out to be more satisfying than anything else on this list. I want this one perhaps the most.
Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro This mountain has called to me for a long time; don’t know why.
And some I’ve already acheived (please list yours, too):
Get married We had our 4th anniversary last month
Have children We had our first in March
Act in a feature film Done x2
Own a home Done 3 years ago
Get a college degree Will be done in a matter of a couple weeks
Give up cigarettes Done 3 years ago next month
Complete a triathlon Done x2 (sprint distance. Might go longer for my next one)
One note: I realize we have a very funny membership here. I know you’ll be tempted to post things like “two chicks at the same time.” I would really appreciate it if you would restrain yourself. I’m genuinely interested in this subject and if a couple people turn it into a joke then no one else is going to want to take it seriously.