On My Birthday

Birthdays are a time for personal reflection on where we have come from and where we are going. We remember childhood parties as a kid and realize how quickly social security is coming. For those of use who's birthday fall in December, we also get swept into a wave of resolutions and new ways of life. Each year, I want to see measurable growth. I want to be evolving from the man I am into the man I want to be and see clear steps in that direction. My last post highlighted some big steps I've taken in the last year. I've also decided to outline 29 goals I'd like to achieve before I turn 29 which I will share more about tomorrow.

Today, I want to talk about the present or, at the very least, being present. In putting together my 29 before 29, I've found that I rule my life primarily by making mistakes in the past and planning to rectify them in the future. I charged too much on my credit card last month so this next month I can't do anything fun. I ate two doughnuts yesterday so I will do a double at the gym tomorrow. My friend didn't set up his 401k early enough and I don't have the money to set one up so I should worry about my future not being great.

I saw this great movie today, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", and the whole time I thought about how I didn't want to just sit back and help people accomplish their goals anymore. I want to be the person on the front line taking the bull by the horns. I realized that maybe the reason I feel so unfulfilled at time is because I am not fulfilling my true spirit of adventure.

This year I want to live in the moment. I want to look up at the sky and see the constellation. When I lay on my death bed, I know that I will be happy if I can say that my life was full and rich not happy because I have $580,000 in an account somewhere. I want to see monuments and make new friends and drink new coffee with old friends and build some stuff. I want beauty and excitement and I don't want anxiety and dread. I want healthy fear and risky moments. I want passion and danger instead of routine and order.

More adventure, less worry.

Tomorrow, I will lay out my goals for the year.  Some will learn from past mistakes and some will be forward thinking but for the next year I use the principal "more adventure, less worry" as my guiding influence. Today, I embrace the spirit in me to do more, to see more and to be more.