What are you looking forward to?

Several years ago my wife, Georgia, and I began the practice of making a “looking forward to” list at the start of the new year. This is different from my list of goals in that it typically has all kinds of things on it. Obviously, we list the big things like any vacations we’re planning but we also list things we might enjoy doing on a weekend or an evening out. 

For example, in addition to a vacation this year to Alaska, someplace I’ve always wanted to see, we’ll list “everyday” activities like seeing specific movies, visiting a museum or going to particular restaurants.

Once of the things we’ve noticed since adopting the practice of making a looking forward to list is that we do more. We went from hardly ever going to the movies, for no particular reason, to attending 12 or 15 movies a year.  

Having our list eliminates the dialog many couples have of asking, “What do you want to do dear?” and hearing, “I don’t know, what do you want to do?” It always reminds me of the movie “Marty” where the characters go through this routine throughout the movie.

When faced with trying to decide what we want to do on a given day off we can always pick something from our list. Another version of this is to make a list of everything you want to do before you leave the planet, however, for obvious reasons, I’m not as fond of that idea.

I recently met a woman who said she had almost finished her “bucket” list, from the movie of the same name. “What will you do then?” I asked her. “I guess I’ll just die,” was her response. Personally, I’d rather just keep a list of what I’m looking forward to. 

Something else you may enjoy is an activity I learned at a live seminar given by my friend, Terri Levine. Terri suggested we look back to our youth and think about some of the things we used to enjoy doing but, for whatever, reason, are no longer engaged in. For example, when was the last time you went ice skating? For me it’s been years even though, as a teenager, I throughly enjoyed it. 

What are some of the things you used to enjoy that you may like doing again?

What’s stopping you?

Caution: If you’re older, remember to start slowly and, in some cases, get a physical checkup before starting any strenuous activity. 

Even though LaCrosse is usually associated with youth, my friend, Ski, plays with a group of older guys appropriately named the “Old Dogs.” Yes you can still play but you’re gonna feel the pain:-)

Remember, it’s never too late to have a happy childhood.