Life Ambitions: A Review and a New Start

Happy New Year everyone!

Roughly 4 years ago I wrote a list of goals I wanted to accomplish, and today I have a progress update to share. I wrote my list as I wanted to have ambitions to work towards, and give myself a bit of direction towards the things I want out of life.  I wanted to make the most of opportunities, and create new ones! I never think of this as a list of things to "tick off"; I don't really believe in doing something for the sake of it.  But having a list of goals to pursue is something that I find motivating.

In the time since I wrote the list, it has more than tripled in length to 111 items, because there are always new things that I want to experience.  And that's no bad thing: if I never achieve everything on here, it won't be because I never chased my dreams, it will be because I keep finding new adventures to go on. I also sometimes remove goals that I no longer find inspiring or motivating. I can: it's my list and I don't feel bad about it.

When I first started to jot down my goals, some were straightforward and simple, and some of them seemed huge, and not instantly attainable.  But having my ambitions listed helped motivate me, reminding me that there are things I want to work towards, and that sometimes that happens in small steps. A bit of patience and forward planning is needed.  That philosophy meant that in 2016, I was able to travel to New Zealand and Africa, to go on safari and fly in a helicopter, and to (finally!) get my international license for Girlguiding. It's been quite a year!

   Some of these goals are still not something I can pick up and do next week but some I can.  What could be better on a dark, damp January weekend than to arrange to meet a friend and make home-made ice cream for the first time! The new year is a good time to review and think about what I hope to achieve. It's a fresh start, and being newly single, I think that's something I need right now.  Time to make some exciting new plans!

So far I have completed 84 goals on the list leaving me with 34 still to do. Here's the current list, linked up where I can, highlighted items completed.

#1 Make cake pops
#2 Make a multicoloured layer cake
#3 Go on a canal boat
#4 Play Dungeons and Dragons
#5 Play hooky for a day
#6 Have an all-night film marathon
#7 Go on a sleeper train
#8 Have tea at the Ritz
#9 And Claridges
#10 See 2 London Shows in a day
#11 Make a photo wall display
#12 Build a den.  A really cool one.
#13 Road trip in the USA
#14 New York, New York
#15 Go glamping in a fancy tent with fairy lights
#16 Buy an expensive set of lingerie
#17 Sew something to wear
#18 Get married
#19 Make a set of jam-jar cocktail glasses
#20 Make blueberry gin
#21 Do the take-away double
#22 Redesign this blog
#23 Go skinny dipping
#24 Milk a cow
#25 Learn to make pasta
#26 Get up early to photograph the sunrise 
#27 Ride a motorbike
#28 Have dim sum at Hakkasan
#29 Do an Escape Room
#30 Learn Calligraphy
#31 Have dinner at Dans le Noir
#32 Re-purpose something second-hand
#33 Go to a cult Rocky Horror screening
#34 Go to a burlesque show
#35 Go ape
#36 Go to a Secret Cinema screening
#37 See a play at Cornwall's Minack Theatre
#38 Go on a helicopter
#39 Make my own ice cream#40 Have dinner at Dishoom
#41 Take part in a Murder Mystery Treasure Hunt
#42 Buy a bikini
#43 Have afternoon tea at Cutter and Squidge
#44 Get my eyebrows shaped
#45 Inhale helium
#46 See the Northern Lights
#47 Go to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
#48 See New Zealand
#49 Stay in a tree house
#50 Have a bash at karaoke
#51 Go to a roller derby
#52 Travel to South America
#53 Start a family
#54 See a film at a drive-in cinema
#55 Go to a sh*t-faced Shakespeare production
#56 Make a new giant floor cushion
#57 Try making papercuts with a craft knife
#58 Learn to Scuba Dive
#59 Have a go at spinning
#60 Go for Mad Hatter's Afternoon Tea

#61 Go to the circus

#62 Learn to knit from a chart

#63 Knit a lace pattern

#64 Start a teacup collection

#65 Go on a Segway
#66 Visit Japan

#67 See a midnight matinee at the Globe

#68 Go on a safari

#69 Visit the Cutty Sark
#70 Go to a Casino
#71 Go stargazing
#72 Eat a deep-fried Mars bar
#73 Have dinner at Veeraswamy
#74 Dance on a table in a bar
#75 Ride a camel
#76 Have cocktails at BYOC
#77 Play Dinosaur Safari Adventure Golf
#78 See a baseball match
#79 Go to Bounce Below
#80 Visit the Rough Trade Photobooth
#81 Swim in an infinity pool
#82 Ride a tandem
#83 Cook a roast
#84 Make something out of leather

#85 Get my International License with Girlguiding

#86 Bake a Christmas cake

#87 Dine in a Michelin star restaurant

#88 Do the Lyke Wake Walk

#89 Design a Lace Shawl

#90 Visit a Guiding World Centre outside the UK

#91 Sit in a box at the theatre

#92 Go to Africa

#93 Spend a day at Lyme Park

#94 Try white water rafting

#95 Make Danish pastries

#96 Fly first class on a plane in lying-down beds

#97 Learn Brush Script

#98 Visit Beachy Head

#99 Have a Christmassy afternoon tea
#100 Visit Las Vegas
#101 Skydive
#102 Make choux pastry
#103 Have afternoon tea at the Landmark
#104 Sleep in a 4-Poster bed
#105 Go to a European Christmas Market
#106 Bake a Kanellengd
#107 Visit Scandinavia
#108 Go to Versailles
#109 Have a fire pit
#110 Visit Pompeii
#111 Go to a trampoline park
#112 Have afternoon tea at the Dorchester
#113 Sleep under the stars
#114 Go Interrailing
#115 Visit the Hampton Court Palace Maze
#116 Do the Lost City Hike
#117 See the Galapagos Islands
#118 Find dragons on Komodo


So happy new year indeed! I hope 2017 treats you well and allows you to achieve a few of your ambitions.


Kisses xxx


P.S. As I mentioned, I love finding new things to add to the list and look forward to doing one day. So let me know if there's anything you think might be fun!