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Promote Happiness: Create a List of 100 Dreams

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As I wrote last week, so much is changing in our world, almost on a minute-by-minute basis. As a result, this is as good a time as any to consider a great challenge for anyone to tackle, especially those wanting to be better with their money.

Your Challenge: Create a List of 100 Dreams

This idea is “borrowed” from Laura Vanderkam. She, it turns out, borrowed it from career coach Caroline Ceniza-Levine, so I feel in good company.

As Vanderkam writes  in All the Money in the World, a List of 100 Dreams is

“a completed unedited list of anything you might want to do or have in life. People start off with grand dreams, like visiting the pyramids in Egypt, but as we get closer to 100, of necessity we start brainstorming more everyday fonts of joy, like visiting an art museum an hour away, or having dinner with a close friend once a week.”

In some down time over the weekend, I opened up a new Trello board called “100 Dreams” and jumped in. 

It honestly astonished me how quickly (five minutes, tops) it took to list more than 40 things. I created semi-specific categories for myself: career; personal; fitness (mostly races I would like to run); domestic travel; international travel; book groups; dates (with my husband); and family dates.

After a total of probably 30 minutes, I have 91 items so far, and likely by the time I edit and put up this post, I will have the full 100 (update: 100 plus now!)

Benefits of a List of 100 Dreams

Vanderkam herself publishes a list sometimes related to a year. Here is part of her 2018 list, for example.

An unexpected benefit, Vanderkam says, of publishing the list: readers have given advice, or help, or helped set up some of the events, such as inviting her to speak at a location she would like to visit.

The benefit of reading someone else’s List of 100 Dreams is getting creative ideas flowing. I encourage you to take some time this week to create your own List of 100 Dreams.

So, with that in mind, here is a sampling of items from my 2020 List of 100 Dreams. I welcome advice on any of these items, such as places to stay, things to see, etc. (Anyone else interested in my Literary England pilgrimage?) Most of all, I hope that it helps you get started on with your own list.

2020 List of 100 Dreams

Career:

  • Write and publish a money book for moms 
  • Create and market an online course for high schoolers & above on starting a healthy money life
  • Attend FinCon in Long Beach, CA, this fall (cancelled); but there is a virtual one day FinCon and I will attend.
  • Start a podcast (several ideas percolating)

Fitness

  • Run the Oxford Half Marathon (again)
  • Enter and run the  Bath Half Marathon
  • Run a Hot Chocolate Race with one or more of my kids

Personal

  • Moms afternoon to do lettering with Katie Bogner (again)
  • Pysanky eggs
  • Teach kids how to make five meals (this could be five—or fifteen—items, with my three kids!)

Domestic & International Travel

  • Trip to Door County (again)
  • Trip to Maine & Acadia (again)
  • Whole family visit Florida
  • Visit Glacier National Park with family
  • Cruise/Rail to Western Canada & Alaska
  • Visit the Indiana Dunes now that it is a national park.
  • Trip to Seattle to visit a sister (cancelled due to coronavirus).
  • Organize & Lead a Literary England Trip—London, Oxford, Chawton & environs, Bath, maybe Lake District as well?
  • Girls Trip to Prince Edward Island for Anne of Green Gables sites
  • LOTR pilgrimage to New Zealand

Book Groups

  • Jane Austen Book Group reading all of the novels (currently Pride & Prejudice underway via Zoom—so much enjoyment here)
  • Anthony Trollope Reading Group
  • Continue Well-Read Mom Book Group (online for now)

Date Nights & Family Date Ideas

  • Axe Throwing plus dinner
  • Virtual double dates with other couples—desserts & drinks
  • Escape Room
  • Day Hike at local trails & picnic lunch/dinner
  • Day Trip to St. Louis
  • Day Trip to Chicago 

Creating this list during a global pandemic made this process go more quickly for me. It helped me to focus me on things I would love to do, but cannot do right now.

Or maybe next week’s challenge should be a List of 100 Dreams to complete during a global pandemic, so we can all can complete some of the items?

What is on your List of 100 Dreams?