Long-time listeners of the Best of Both Worlds podcast know that Sarah and I both love talking about goals. Today’s episode is about a specific kind of goal-setting exercise: Our Lists of 100 Dreams — very long lists of anything we might want to try in life.
Sarah made a list in 2010 after reading 168 Hours. She said she wanted to be a pediatric endocrinologist working in a part-time role (done!) She also said she wanted three kids (done!)
We spent a fair chunk of the episode talking about travel goals. Sarah wants to go to Japan sometime, and we lamented the fact that the stage of life when it became financially feasible to do such things has coincided with the little kid stage (which makes it logistically difficult). However, this will probably happen someday.
Or if not, there’s visiting Japanese stationery stores. Especially the one she likes in Philadelphia. That is doable.
We talked about items that have drifted off our lists in their various iterations. I never did see Casablanca. It would be pretty easy to do so, so the fact that I haven’t is telling. Sarah had originally listed wanting to work 3 days per week, but now realizes that her professional goals are best served by working more days than that (4 on medicine, 1 on other projects such as the podcast, blog, and some long-term writing things).
I talked about wanting to form a writer’s strategy group. We had one going in NYC for a while, but a lot of us moved. This would be a group of people who are in the writing business professionally, and we’d brainstorm professional goals and opportunities for each other. I suppose it could be virtual, or local to Philly.
Sarah wants to hit 100,000 page views per month on The SHU Box (please go click and help her!). I want the podcast to hit 1 million downloads by our second birthday (we’re on track for that now, but it would be fun to hit it early! Please tell your friends to check us out!)
I want to protect open fall days for leaf-viewing trips. Sarah wants to see the fall leaves (not so many in Miami, so that will likewise require a trip).
I want to do more morning runs. It’s logistically challenging sometimes, but the key is reminding myself it doesn’t need to happen every day. I could definitely do outside morning runs 1-2 days per week. Sarah wants to qualify for and run the Boston marathon. We noted that this is actually two separate goals; she could train really hard and try to make the time cut, but if she came close and didn’t make it, she could still do the race as a charity runner (you commit to raising a certain amount in exchange for being able to run it).
Finally, I want to get some nice pajamas. I welcome suggestions on luxurious yet sleep-able options that would help me up my pajama game.
I’ll be writing about Lists of 100 Dreams all week on the blog, so any day, feel free to share items on your list in the comments!
On going to Norway… I know you’ve read Kristin Lavransdatter (since you inspired me to read it!) but check out The Winter Fortress as well. It was one of the best books I read in 2017, and is about the Norwegian resistance during WW2 and the efforts to sabotage a heavy water plant. There’s even a YA version your kids might enjoy!
I haven’t listened to the episode yet (saving it for my commute later today), but I can highly recommend Lake pajamas as luxurious yet comfy. They are pima and are as soft as the best baby sleepers. They do run small, so I recommend sizing up!
Inspired by the List of 100 Dreams post and starting on my list this week. It reminds me of a challenge I gave myself a couple of years ago: in the year I turned 50, i had to do/experience 5 new things a month. Which involved writing a list of goals and dreams. What I first wrote were large, expensive and many required travel or days off. So not many happened. But what I found as the weeks passed was that new things happened all the time; I just noticed them now. It developed a gratitude, a mindfulness, and a wonder about life that is “nothing out of the ordinary” and yet full of wonderful new things every day – the new app learned, the new gelato place that popped up, the new awareness I had about myself in conflicts. I continue to journal my new things and have found that I easily get to 20 a month. One of my favorite quotes is from Proust, “The real voyage of discovery consists, not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”
Garner Hill Asian wrap pjs
I bought these and am very underwhelmed. They are soft and hold up well through washing, but I don’t find them super comfy. I really wanted to love them, but I just didn’t.
I really like the In Bloom by Jonquil PJs and the also boughts Amazon suggested.
Great episode (as always)! I enjoyed the discussion of the List of 100 Dreams and plan on starting one soon. I also loved the reference to Team Paper (Planner). I tried to use a digital planner for several years and recently returned to paper, in large part because most of my millennial college students use paper planners. (Granted, I do teach art history, so most of my students are interested in the visual…perhaps computer science students have different practices!) It’s interesting that even that generation (or at least some of them) find paper more useful and effective.
PJ Harlow Pajamas, (a splurge).
I tend to like the Gillian O’Malley pj’s at target! What I finally realized about PJ’s is that I have to wear fitted/leggings on the bottom because I don’t like how pants ride up as I’m sleeping. I also like Gap Body.
Just listened the episode. Totally want to create my own list of 100 Dreams! Thanks for the inspiration. Also, I am so looking forward to Planner Palooza 2. I have been using the Full Focus Planner for over a year, and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts! 🙂 Happy Fall!
I love how many people have gotten so much use from an exercise I created many years ago. I still keep my own list of 100 Dreams, and many of my additions are travel-related. I have found that the more I license I give myself to add things, the more I end up checking off. We did 7 international trips last year after, and we’re planning for a year of continuous travel starting next fall.