43things - goals and ambitions.

Goals. Ambitions. Dreams. Wants. Desires. Whatever you want to call them we’ve all got them. Even the people that I meet that say they have no goals have them, they just haven’t been able to put a name to them yet.

I’ve always been aware of what I want from life. Sometimes I’ve got a bit confused or I’ve been side tracked, but they’ve always been there. The problem I’ve had is to keep up the motivation to do anything about it, or just be able to put a plan together. Well, all this has changed in the last month or so. I stumbled across a site called 43things and it has really changed how I go about achieving things. When I first read about it I thought ‘yeah, right, it’s just another way to procrastinate or spend more time talking about what you want to do rather than doing it’. I was very wrong. What I found was a site that really helped me to focus on what I want and how to get there, as well as a group of people who are friendly and encouraging. I have to admit there is a feeling of being accountable to other people, though there is no pressure at all, just support and no one thinks anything about it when you give up on a goal for some reason. My list is ever changing as I edit goals, complete them and add new ones. There are big goals (buy a house) and small, fun ones (learn to juggle) and I find this works best for me. I also add ones I know I will be able to complete quickly. The act of being able to tick something off always encourages me to move on with the rest.

One thing that helps is the encouragement from other people. And I’m always surprised at the number of people who have the same goals. Sometimes you stumble across a goal that you hadn’t thought about before and decide to give it a go; 43things can open up new possibilities, which can only be a good thing. The only thing that concerns me is the amount of people that have the goals ‘I want to commit suicide’ or ‘I want to be anorexic’, there is something disturbing about it, though there is part of me that feels that subconsciously they must desire some form of help as they would be aware of what kind of response they will get – though maybe it is just the attention they need.

For anyone who likes lists and needs something to help them maintain motivation and focus have a look and see if it’s for you.