What ARE Your Dreams Anyway?

I've been working on making an everyday dreams and adventures list.  It is a list of all the learning I want to do, the dreams I want to fulfill and life-experiences I wish to have.  Some of list items are little things that I’m really wanting to do right now or quite soon, some of the list items are life dreams that will take a while to achieve.

Making a list like this is not about listing things that you have no intention of doing.  The list needs to be based on your existing values, not a list filled with random goals that you have no intention of working toward.  For example, I could put 'visit the moon' on my list, but I have no intention of working toward this goal by either training to be an astronaut or saving money for a tourist spaceflight.  These are all things that I know I can achieve.  Now that I have the list I intend to work to accomplish some of these things.



I found the process of making a list was an excellent way to spotlight what I've already achieved in my life and set some intentions and long term aims for the next part of my life.  And it was fun to dream about all the amazing things I could do.  My next step will be to take some of these items and use them for goal setting, considering 'How will I know when I've achieved this?'

Here is THE list ... (Note: I have left out a couple of goals that I feel are too personal to share here)

learn to play tennis
see the northern or southern lights
visit an ice hotel
spend Christmas in the snow
learn to play keyboard
take a year off to travel the world
see whales
live in a different country for 6 months
go to a spa
visit a volcano
invest in the stock market
go back to Norway with my husband (which is where we first met)
meet my grandchildren
go to the Summer Olympics
catch a 1 metre barramundi
have a mud bath
sail in the Whitsundays
take my children snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef
visit a castle
create my family tree
write my will
see Cirque du Soleil
try skiing or snowboarding
ride an elephant
pass on a family heirloom
ride a motorcycle
take a cruise in Alaska
pay off our house
invest in property
be happy with the physical shape I’m in
loan money through kiva.org
create a home with an joyful, comfortable, welcoming atmosphere.
have a library in my house
start and keep using an art journal
use more fresh produce in my cooking
join a fitness bootcamp
celebrate my 10th wedding anniversary with my husband (we celebrated our 5th anniversary this year)
drink Champagne in Champagne
go on safari in Africa
cross Australia from west to east or east to west in a car
try kayaking
give someone an overly extravagant present
make ice-cream from scratch
visit my sister-in-law in San Diego
dive with whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef
reserve the right to change my list

It was a fun experience making this list.  I looked at other people’s lists for inspiration.  Two of my favourites were …
Mighty Girl’s Mighty Life List
Personal Excellence’s 101 Things to do before you die

Looking at other lists really made me aware of some of the amazing life experiences I’ve already had (including many things that are on other people’s life lists).  Here is a list of some memorable experiences I’ve already had …

seen turtles hatching on a childhood trip to Lady Elliot Island on the Great Barrier Reef.  And the next day, we rescued a baby that had been misled by the lights on the island and gone inland, instead of out to sea.
climbed Uluru and seen the Central Desert of Australia.  In high school, I went on a school trip to Central Australia and we climbed Uluru.  We also stayed in an underground hotel at Coober Pedy on that trip.  In my 20’s, when I worked for CSIRO Education, we travelled through the Central Desert of Australia visiting Aboriginal communities delivering hands-on science programs in the schools.
walked at Cradle Mountain, Tasmania
been scuba diving and snorkelling the on the Great Barrier Reef.
flown in a helicopter

caught a barramundi and stood next to a 4 metre croc with no glass in between
had 2 children
met and married the love of my life
got a university degree.  I have a Bachelor of Science (Honours) and a Graduate Diploma in Primary Education.

What’s on your life list?  What amazing experiences have you already had in your life?