Today I’m digging into my Happiness Project. I’ll start with the first question on my list:
Where have I been and where am I going in life?
With this question, I’m going to write down all of my major life goals that I’ve already achieved and that I want to achieve. I’m not listing them all here. Just a few highlights.
My most important achievement is my ability to read. I take it for granted every day but looking back, reading has opened up the world to me. It’s the building block of all of my later accomplishments and it laid the foundation for a vital part of my core: my desire to learn.
Without reading, I would have never graduated from high school. Or college…twice. I wouldn’t be able to write this blog and share my thoughts with the world at large. I would have never discovered the magic of fiction or the mysteries of the Greek mythology. I would have never purchased a self-improvement book or looked online to find a way to build a better garden layout. I would have been less than I am today without the wonders of reading. Reading allowed me to book travel, research business ideas, and sink into lives of amazing main characters. It is a skill that some never master and I should never discount learning to read.
Anyone who has children knows that this is a major life event. I’ve been blessed with beautiful little people in my life. They bring me joy, tears, heartbreak, jubilation, and so much that I can’t put a voice to. They are more precious to me than all the diamonds in the world, and they sparkle so much brighter in my eyes. Each adventure with them teaches me life lessons and takes me to places in my heart that no one else can touch. The love of a parent for a child is beautiful and risky. They are the ones who can so easily break your heart and mend it a million times over.
Marriage is a life event I’ve repeated more than I originally thought I would. My first marriage taught me that nothing lasts forever and fairy tales are only stories, not reality. It was a hard lesson to learn but I came out of it with more optimism and realism than I had when I went in. I learned that one person can end things. I also learned that no matter what you do or believe, you can’t control the thoughts or feelings of someone else. In my eyes, I married two men, who by everyday standards were average. But in my eyes, they were great, even with their flaws and baggage.
Stepping outside of my front door may not seem like much but to me, crossing my own threshold is the first step I make into the bigger world. My life goal is to travel and see the world. Instead of being one of the people who never leaves their hometown, I embrace going out into the world. I may not feel comfortable in every new locale but at least I had the courage to visit. I’ve been to a lot of places so far and my goal is to see more. Travel makes me appreciate Home so much better. By going, I actually learn to stay.
One thing I haven’t done yet is to learn my native tongue. I wasn’t born here but came over at a very early age. Not knowing my native language is a void that I feel inside of me. My goal is to make the time to learn AND practice until I can carry on a simple conversation. I would hate to visit the country of my birth and not know how to ask, “Where are the restrooms?”+
My current goal is to figure myself out. It’s so much easier to type that phrase than it is to walk the walk. I know it will be a lifelong project to continually hone and improve the person I am. One of my favorite sayings about gardening applies here: Gardening is not a destination, it’s a journey. The same can be said about my self-improvement. I’ll never be done but I will be better.
This is by no means my comprehensive list, but it gives you an idea of what I’m looking at and where I’m headed. I believe in the power of change.
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