101 in 1001

Every family has their various traditions. Some surround holidays, others are focused on travel. Many involve food. My family was no different; many traditions. Some survived the test of time without a scratch, while others had to be modified to accommodate travel schedules and the natural growth and expansion of family.

Among the many, there is one tradition that stands out. One that didn't involve me at all.

Every New Years Day, my parents would wake early, make coffee, dig through an old file cabinet housed in the basement to find a sacred document: their goals from the year before. They would then sit on the sofas in the living room and read over the list. They would cross-off goals they had completed, discuss goals that had changed, and contemplate the goals that remained. They would then spend the better part of the next two hours constructing their goals for the year to come.

I always loved this tradition. Even though I wasn't involved, I knew that one day my future-husband and I would wake up early (10am -- hey, on New Year's Day, that sounded good enough to me), make coffee (go to Starbucks), dig through a cabinet, sit on the sofa, and review the year passed and the year to come.

Ahhh childhood dreaming.

It's not that I married a man who wouldn't participate in that tradition ... it's that sometimes it is better to chart your own course. Start your own tradition. So this New Year I decided to do something a little different.

This year I created a list. A list of 101 goals to be completed in 1001 days.
Basically, that's 2.75 years.
One goal completed every 10 days.
I'm not the first one to think of this. Many others including a friend of mine have completed this task. Here are the rules:
1. Tasks must be specific with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined.
2. Tasks must represent some amount of stretching -- it is not designed to be a long "To-Do List."

I know it sounds easy. Let me assure you, identifying 101 goals that are meaningful, measurable, (and not ridiculously expensive) is tough. I got to 40, and I had to start digging a little deeper. Fortunately another girlfriend of mine decided to have a Goal Setting Party on January 2nd, where a couple girls got together, shared our goals, and brainstormed new ones to complete our lists.

After several days, my list was complete. 103 goals to be exact. Some are just for me, some include Michael, all are important on one level or another. As I complete them, I will post them here. Perhaps, just as watching my parents' tradition inspired me to reach for something greater in a new year, this will inspire you.

Grab a cup of coffee (or whatever) and stay tuned.