Taking Charge of Your Life !

Bucket lists.

I believe in goal setting so much – we have done it every year for several years and have seen the difference it has made in our lives.

In 2022 we accomplished many of our goals. As we look back at that list it is exciting to see what we had on our list. Thank you, Matthew Kelly, for writing the book Dream Manager and teaching us what EVERYONE should put into practice.

An important thing about goal setting, though, is that you need to review your goals at least once a year and see if your priorities have changed. Example: For our Dream Manager list for 2023 – two of our four “Travel Adventures” were Israel and Japan. Last week we completed our two weeks in Japan and in December we are headed to Israel. These were just two of our top four – not our first and second goal for the year.

For “Creative” our #1 goal was “Writing”. Our book should go to print soon – over 68,000 words! Our #3 goal for “Creative” is morning devotionals. We make time for them every day and this has become the most important “Creative” goal in our lives.

For “Intellectual” – MK’s #1 Goal was speaking conversational Japanese. For the past few months that is exactually what she was learning. This really came in handy on our trip.

Other goals in our Dream Manager list include Material Items, Physical Goals, Our Legacy, Emotional Needs, Psychological Goals, Spiritual Needs, Financial Goals: current and over a five-year period, Character Goals, and a Dream we would like to live in the next 12 months.

I remember setting quasi-goals many years ago. Not sure, however, they were achievable. I believe in stretch goals – not just “softball” goals. I also believe there needs to be reasons for your goals.

The visit to Japan, for instance, was a sentimental one for MK. She lived in Yokohama more than fifty years ago when her dad was stationed there. She was curious to see if it was as she remembered. As you can well imagine, things have really changed. Yokohama is part of greater Tokyo. When MK started high school, great Tokyo had twenty-two million people. Today is over thirty-seven million.

My goal for the trip was to more learn more about Japan. We visited Hong Kong, Taipa, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Tokyo and a couple other Japanese cities. The Japanese people were so warm and friendly! Their ethos of “The greater good of all vs. individual desires” explains how so many people can live in harmony in such a small geography.

I learned my understanding of history was incomplete. I was under the impression that the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, only three days apart, were the reason WW II ended in Asia. Not true. We dropped the bombs on August 6 and 9. On August 8th the USSR declared war on Japan. By the night of August 13, the Japanese government sent a letter of surrender.

Here is this month’s challenge: what do you want to accomplish in your life? Look at all the topics above: Creative, Intellectual, Travel, Material, Physical, Legacy, Emotional, Psychological, Spiritual, Character and Financial.

Are your goals written down? If so – CONGRATS. If not – why not?

Your life is up to you. Take charge of it!