Bucket List: FUN

Throughout this month I dedicated my blog to my bucket list.  Being that I have such a large bucket list, I have decided to break them down into categories.  I have already discussed my family, fitness financial, career, personal and travel goals.  Today I will discuss:

FUN

• Go to a shooting range.
• Go see Alvin Ailey performance 
• Take a culinary class
• Stay at a spa for an entire weekend
• Go wine tasting
• See at least FIVE Broadway plays in my lifetime
• Grow a functional garden
• Take a photography course
• Learn how to use a sewing machine
• Attend a NFL Super Bowl game
• Attend a NBA Final game
• Attend at least one professional sport event a year.
• Attend at least one concert a year

Now that I have identified my goals, the next steps are monitoring and adjusting my efforts in order to achieve my goals.  

WARNING: This list will be ever growing and ever changing of things I want to experience and accomplish in my life.  Please feel free to gain ideas for yourself!

The purpose of my bucket list is to challenge myself (and maybe others).  I wanted to start celebrating the here and now by spending time making experiences in life instead of actual things.  My wish is for you guys to join me in establishing your own experiences and in conversation about this journey that I am partaking in!
 

I even plan to document it through scrap-booking!!!  LOL....

Bucket List: TRAVEL

This month I am dedicating my blog to plans and goals.  Being that I have such a large bucket list, I have decided to break them down into categories.  I have already discussed my family, fitness, financial, career and personal goals.  Today I will discuss:

TRAVEL

• Take a solo weekend beach trip ONCE A YEAR!
• Go on a cruise
• Go on an European cruise
• Take a road trip across the US (from NY to CA) one summer
• Visit every state in the US
• Visit every continent 
• Spend a week in New York

Now that I have identified my travel goals, the next steps are monitoring and adjusting my efforts in order to achieve my goals.  

WARNING: This list will be ever growing and ever changing of things I want to experience and accomplish in my life.  Please feel free to gain ideas for yourself!

Thursday we will discuss my goals for......FUN!!!

Bucket List: PERSONAL

This month I am dedicating my blog to plans and goals.  Being that I have such a large bucket list, I have decided to break them down into categories.  I have already discussed my family, fitness, financial and career goals.  Today I will discuss:

PERSONAL

• Learn to meditate and incorporate it into my life. (see my post about Transcendental Meditation)
• Become spiritually stronger
• Read the Bible extensively from cover to cover (at least 3 different translations)
• Reach each holy book for all major religions
• Become a mentor
• Take a creative writing course
• Take a Toast Masters course
• Take a self defense class
• Take a graphic design and video editing course
• Become a publish author
• Enter a writing contest 
• Take at least one continuing education course every other year.  NEVER STOP LEARNING.
• Consistently write in my gratitude journal (@ least once a week) for a year.
• Become an early riser.

Now that I have identified my financial goals, the next steps are monitoring and adjusting my efforts in order to achieve my goals.  

WARNING: This list will be ever growing and ever changing of things I want to experience and accomplish in my life.  Please feel free to gain ideas for yourself!

Tuesday we will discuss my goals for......TRAVEL

Bucket List: CAREER

This month I am dedicating my blog to plans and goals.  Being that I have such a large bucket list, I have decided to break them down into categories.  I have already discussed my family, fitness and financial goals.  Today I will discuss:

CAREER

• GET A DAMN JOB.. A REAL ONE! (sorry, but I am really passionate about this one... LOL)
• Obtain my MSW, LCSW, and PHD
• Take courses in Grant Writing
• Obtain my real estate license in LA, MS and GA
• Create a non-profit organization
• Become fluent in Spanish
• Become conversational in Japanese
• Become a professor
• Become a franchise owner
• Earn the Microsoft Office 2007 Master Certification 

Now that I have identified my financial goals, the next steps are monitoring and adjusting my efforts in order to achieve my goals.  

WARNING: This list will be ever growing and ever changing of things I want to experience and accomplish in my life.  Please feel free to gain ideas for yourself!

Thursday we will discuss my goals for......PERSONAL!

Bucket List: FINANCES

This month I am dedicating my blog to plans and goals.  Being that I have such a large bucket list, I have decided to break them down into categories.  I have already discussed my family and fitness goals, and today will discuss:

FINANCES

• 2015 - Become debt free (except for student loans)
• Start a "future homeowner" savings account
• Have $5000 in my LEVEL ONE emergency savings account
• Have $2000 in my vacation savings account
• Have $500 in my car emergency savings account
• Obtain a starter home/condo/townhouse
• Obtain rental property
• Establish a positive net worth
• Start investing
• Create an IRA

Now that I have identified my financial goals, the next steps are monitoring and adjusting my efforts in order to achieve my goals.

WARNING: This list will be ever growing and ever changing of things I want to experience and accomplish in my life.  Please feel free to gain ideas for yourself!

Tuesday we will discuss...... CAREER!

Bucket List: FITNESS

This month I am dedicating my blog to plans and goals.  Being that I have such a large bucket list, I have decided to break them down into categories.  Last week we started with family and today:

FITNESS

• Complete Insanity
• Complete P90X
• Run a 5k, 10K, half marathon and marathon
• Learn how to swim
• Start cycling
• Compete in cycle and swim meets/events
• Complete a triathlon
• Compete in a crossfit event
• Start taking regular Yoga Classes (at least one every week or every other week for a year)
• Take tennis lessons.

Now that I have identified my fitness goals, the next steps are monitoring and adjusting my efforts in order to achieve my goals.

WARNING: This list will be ever growing and ever changing of things I want to experience and accomplish in my life.  Please feel free to gain ideas for yourself!

Thursday we will discuss...... FINANCES!

Bucket List: Family

This month I am dedicating my blog to plans for life and goals.  Tuesday I gave you a history of my life with lists and today we will discuss:

BUCKET LISTS

I have come to the conclusion that I needed to do a better job of keeping up with ALL the goals I set for myself.  Now that I will be entering into my thirties, I do not want to get to my fifties (and beyond) with any regrets!  So in order to not say, "I wish I had done such and such."  (like I have done with my twenties), I will create a bucket list (a.k.a "One day this will happen").

My goals have been broken down into different components below:

Fitness

Finances 

Career

Personal 

Travel

Fun

Family

Today we will focus on the FAMILY portion of my bucket list.  

• Spend time with my elderly relatives.
• Establish better relationships with my siblings.
• Do things with my nieces and nephews.
• Prepare for my "future" husband.

Now that I have identified my goals, the next steps are monitoring and adjusting my efforts in order to achieve my goals. 

WARNING: This list will be ever growing and ever changing of things I want to experience and accomplish in my life.  Please feel free to gain ideas for yourself!

Weight Wednesdays: Insanity

Yesterday I started the Insanity workout and it was (no is) pure hell.  I am extremely out of shape, but I am going to try my damn best to get through the next 60 (actually 63) days.  By day 15 of any workout regime I end up quitting.  So if I can get past day 15, I know I can do it!!!  

Wish me luck!

See you next week with an update....

A Life with Lists

I have always been a planner or a person with “lists”.  From as long as I can remember I have tried to plan out how I wanted my life to go.  Throughout the years I have learned that this is not always a good route to take.  If things did not go according to the “plan”, I would literally breakdown. 

What was I suppose to do?  Just live?  Huh? Just living is not on the list!

I spent the latter part of my twenties coming to terms with this and truly learning the phrase:

“If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.”

Boy I have I given Him plenty to laugh at! Smh… 

What I basically get out of this quote is that while I was planning my life to the “tee” I was eliminating a major component.  We never know what He has in store for us.  After going through something I thought I could never get through; something I thought would be the worst thing ever, I am happy to say that I made it.  I am not where I want to be, but I am nowhere near the bottomless pit I was in.  I can actually see sunlight.  I finally came to understand that it is okay to make plans, but it is God who controls the outcome. We can make plans, but we have to understand that if it’s His will……

After coming to this realization I knew that it was still okay to make plans, but I sought Him as well.  By doing this small (but great) task, everything became clear.  Now I don’t mean I got a vision of what I was supposed to do with my life, but I did learn how to go about setting goals, letting go of the past and most importantly, having faith in Him. 

While I am walking in faith, I am not without a list.  However this time I am going about it a different way.  After reading several articles, I am now in the process of creating SMART Goals:

S         Specific (describing the exact goal – who, what, when, why)

M        Measurable (creating criteria to measure progress)

A         Attainable (skills/abilities that I will need to make it happen)

R         Realistic (being willing and able to make it happen)

T         Timely (giving a time frame of the goal)

What’s different from today’s Neka versus the Neka of 5-6 years ago (even up until a couple of months ago) is that I will not let “my plans” dictate my life.  They are ever changing and that’s okay.  Perfect example could be that I am currently feeling like I am stagnant personally and professionally.  I spent the past eight months ignoring my goals/plans/lists and wallowing in my failure. I did not want to see a list.  Now that I feel like I am out of my “rut” and in a better place spiritually, I am more capable of setting realistic obtainable (SMART) goals to get me out of this space. 

Each week of this month I will break down all the things I want to accomplish.  Remember that this list will be ever changing.  Please feel free to leave comment and tell me about your history with lists!

Next week.... MY BUCKET LIST - PART ONE (FITNESS)