My Goals: Brainstorming What Is Next

When I turned 40, I had the realization that I had spent my 20s figuring out what kind of life I wanted to build for myself and my 30s actually building it. On the turning point into my 40s, I decided that it was time to sit back and spend the decade enjoying what I built. That was the extent of my goals!

Then I started planning a Family Gap Year. The plan was to visit 13 countries in 12 months. I booked nearly the entire trip via AirBnB! We had a lease signed on our house!

And then the global pandemic hit and we unraveled the trip. Simultaneously, I had to work with my team at Montessori For All to reimagine education (first in the span of a week and three days). And then I had to spend the summer acting like an armchair epidemiologist.

I’m finally in a place of having free time again. I spend my free time reading, watching Netflix, going for walks with Matt, swimming with my children, playing games with my children, visiting two different families, stretching and meditating a couple times a week, playing gin rummy on my phone, and venturing out into nature.

But it’s not enough. I keep going back to Kelsey’s statement about “novelty and progress.” (Kelsey, am I even getting that right or am I making it up?). I like to have novelty and progress in my life. Focusing on something purposeful and productive during some of my free time makes me feel good.

Let me brainstorm ideas!

• Start a podcast
• Build a month-long meal calendar for my family
• Publish an e-booklet about how to talk to your children about human development and sexuality
• Publish an e-booklet about Montessori in the first year of life
• Join a tennis league
• Plan a couple camping trips for this Fall
• Work on getting our home repairs completed
• Post once a day on my Instagram account
• Read some financial planning books and make a stronger plan for our future

It’s feeling good to start brainstorming this list. I don’t want to make a hasty decision. I’m going to keep adding to this list and see what rises to the very top! I definitely don’t want to take on too much at one time and feel stressed about. But I am looking forward to a little novelty and progress.