Making my list...

I've told a handful of people about my Forty for 40 idea, and the reactions have been interesting. I'm not sure that anyone understands that this is not a life list of "40 things I feel like I should have accomplished by now" or "40 things to do before I die". Nor is it a list of stuff I just need to get done next year--things I would have or should have been doing anyway. I'm judging this by the types of things people are telling me are on THEIR lists, were they to make a list. I don't really mind--first of all, I appreciate that people seem to be responding positively (and very supportively-- I'm so grateful for that). Secondly, it reinforces that this is my idea for ME, and for no one else. The things on my list are not, for the most part, monumental "bucket list" sorts of things you do once in a lifetime and check off. At the same time, most of the things I've included will take real focus and commitment on my part to complete. I found, in particular, that adding the element of 40 creates a special challenge that is part of the point, for me. For example--saying I'm going to walk or run every week is not innately list-worthy, but quantifying "40 miles per week" means something. That's a lot of walking or running. It means I'll have to average more than 5 miles per day. Something I'm totally capable of, but have never done. Something that will, at the end of the year, feel like an ACCOMPLISHMENT...but will also, I hope, become part of my lifestyle well beyond my 40th year.

I don't mind that this whole idea doesn't necessarily make sense to everyone. Even though I would love to think that this undertaking can inspire someone else along the way, that's not why I'm doing it. Nor am I doing it so I can write a book at the end--though I'd be lying if I hadn't thought that would be a wonderful outcome. I'm doing it for me, and me alone. I'm doing it to celebrate my gratitude for the many, many ways I have been blessed--good health, good friends, good heart--and to simultaneously push myself to do things that seem improbable, if not impossible.

Most of all, I want to finish what I started--something I'm not particularly good at. I will finish making this list, and I will complete all the items on the list. That will be the very best gift I can give myself.