Adulting,  Life

My Impossible List

July 19, 2021 /

For many people, 2020 couldn’t have ended any sooner. The goals and things they had planned now feel pointless and unfulfilled with the changes that Covid-19 brought. And so, for many people, 2021 started a new year of resolutions.

But with so many things still not completely back to normal, 2021 may also feel like a year that is already shot.

BUCKET LISTS

“A list of things that one has not done before but wants to do before dying.” Merriam-Webster dictionary

Bucket lists are very common things to make. Online you will find plenty of bucket list ideas and printables for creating one. I created one when I was a kid. Some of the bucket lists will even have lots of the same goals as other ones.

But I’ve found something even better than a bucket list: the Impossible List.

As Joel Runyon, the creator of the Impossible List, says, “A bucket list has accomplishments, the impossible list has meaning.”

While a bucket list can be completed and finished, with all the things on the list checked off, the Impossible List is ongoing and ever changing. It never ends. You complete a goal and then make a new one. As you grow, it grows. You list what you see as impossible and strive to do those exact things. That’s why I love it so much. It makes you see that really nothing is impossible when you set your mind to something.

THE IMPOSSIBLE LIST

I first heard about the Impossible List from College Info Geek over three years ago and I made my first Impossible List right before 2017 started. Since then, it’s gone through revisions (at least four of them) and the one I am going to share on here is the most recent version.

After looking back at myself over the years, I realize how much I don’t want to be in the exact same place as I have been. I just felt stuck and I don’t want to feel stuck anymore. I want to make the changes I say I am going to make, and I want to actively chase after my dreams and goals. I don’t want it to be a list of things that I just check off. I want my goals to reflect growth, so that when I check off one thing, a new thing replaces it.

In a year from now, I want to be able to say I made those changes and accomplished those goals. And I want each and every one of you to be able to say the same thing.

MY LIST

Just to give you an idea, here are just a few of the many things from my Impossible List.

  • Read the entire Bible
  • Leave a $100 tip at a restaurant
  • Graduate college debt free
  • Learn archery
  • Run a Tough Mudder
  • Visit every American state capital
  • Wear a snake around my neck
  • Become fluent in Japanese
  • Become a NY Times bestselling author

And another goal I have is to:

Read 1,000 Books

I really like this idea. I also heard this from Thomas Frank’s Impossible List. I love to read and there are a lot of books I could add to the list now, but I want my reading list to include more than just fiction books and books I had to read for school.

Reading creates so many more opportunities for me to learn and open my mind to experiences I might never have.

“The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries.” Rene Descartes

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” Dr. Seuss

“Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.” Joyce Carol Oates

Reading 1,000 books just seems like an awesome goal to me, and I can’t wait to start adding books to the list.

If you would like to see the rest of my list, click on the “My Impossible List” tab above and see what I’ve been up to!

I’M ROOTING FOR YOU

I’m rooting for you. I want you to be successful. I want you to fulfill all your hopes and dreams. And I want to walk alongside you in this journey.

Make your own goals. Know that they can change and you can change as well.

Making an ongoing and ever changing list of goals helps you to never lose sight of what you wish to accomplish in life while also having something that is growing with you as you grow.

The possibilities are there. Let’s make them realities.

What goals are you going to be put on your Impossible List?