As you remember, last year I started using a new ( and extremely popular by now ) social site Pinterest. As I mentioned in my last year's post, "My Bucket List on Pinterest" this web site helped me keep visual focus on my goals, dreams, and aspirations.
The more clearly you are able to visualize, the faster you will be able to get your goals achieved. If you don't believe in goal setting and visualization, let my Bucket List on Pinterest be a living proof that whatever you can imagine, can be real !
Let's look at some goals/dreams/plans I had a year ago, and see how I made it happen :
1 - Learn to kiteboard.
Not only did I have a great time kiteboarding in Bellingham, I spent three glorious months in Florida working on my skills.
2 - Go on my first cross country road trip
I've been dreaming about taking a cross country road trip for that past 5 years (!!!).
But a goal without a plan is just a wish. All I had to do was to start visualizing it ! I created a Pinterest board " Road Trip USA ", and later this year, not only did I travel around Southwest, I drove Seattle-Florida-Seattle !
3 - Visit Mexico
After more than 10 years, I was super excited to get my US citizenship ! The one and the only reason I wanted it - so I could travel !!!
My first "foreign country" was Canada ( or British Columbia, to be exact:))
The next one ? Mexico !
Though, I did a lot of touristy things, I had a lot of fun ! And the highlight of my trip was .... -
4 - Try cenote diving
5 - Go Mountain Biking in Utah
Moab, Utah is considered to be the birthplace of mountain biking, and since the first time I saw a picture of a mountain biker on the rim of Canyonlands National Park, I knew I had to be there ! Not only did I visit two of the most beautiful and unique National Parks in US ( Canyonlands and Arches ), I got to go mountain biking on the iconic Slickrock Trail !
6 - Try Tandem BASE jumping in Idaho or Moab
Honestly, this is one of my dreams I thought I wouldn't cross off my Bucket List in a long time ! :)
A few months before my Southwest road trip, I wrote a short post about tandem BASE jumping...wrote and forgot about it...
It wasn't until I was in Moab that I realized, "oh my God, I'm in Moab, one of the places I wrote about BASE jumping !!! I can totally do it right now !!!"
Long story short, here I am , standing with Mario Richards and his beautiful wife Steph Devis ( my " I want-a-girlfriend-like-this" idol :)) getting ready for my first BASE jump
7 - Try Canyoneering
You have to realize that some dreams/goals/plans take time.
I've been wanting to try canyoneering for a long time, but it wasn't until I was in Utah, that I got to try it. And you know what ? It's true what they say : "Good things come to those who wait". It was an amazing experience !
8 - Learn how to ride a motorcycle
Just like with canyoneering, it took me two years to reach this goal ! But this year, not only did I learn how to ride a motorcycle, I got my enhanced license, and even bought my first bike !
9 - Grand Canyon: Hike rim-to-rim
Here is another weird thing about goal setting : you have to be flexible with your plans/goals.
Sometimes, what you get is not what you originally planned/hoped for. This is what happened to me when I found myself in Grand Canyon NP.
It was the middle of the summer, the busiest tourist season, and I just visited Canyonlands/Arches NP's ( which, let's agree, are mini versions of GC :)).
Hiking rim-to-rim ( or even going to the bottom of the canyon ) wasn't something I was ready to die for.
Does it count as "goal achieved" ? I don't know... what matters is that I had a great time, and I know I'll be back for more adventures in Grand Canyon ( multi day rafting trip, may be ? )
10 - Camping at Palouse State Park
This "achieved goal" actually reminds me that some of our goals can be plain disappointing. When goals turn into expectations, disappointment often results because real life gets in the way. Sometimes, what you see, is not necessary what you'll get...
But no matter what, a few things I've learned over the past few years :
“Everything you can imagine is real.” ~ Pablo Picasso
"If you can dream it, you can do it" ~ Walt Disney
"Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe, that you have received it, and it will be yours." -Mark 11:24
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