I made a list of 12 goals I want to reach during my 27th year (I turned 27 on July 15th).  I put this list on my bathroom mirror so every day I wake up and see my list.

I get very caught up in the BIG PICTURE.  I get very excited about life.  Like, “I want to travel to Tibet!” I could ruminate on this thought for weeks and research and Blog about it and buy books on it.  And then after a few weeks, I wake up and say, “Oh crap. I don’t have the money to travel to Tibet.  Okay.  Now I have to be patient.  I hate being patient.  Okay, Julie, You have to be patient.  Now, how do I really reach my goal of traveling to Tibet?  Number one.  Save money.”  This gives you a brief insight into how my mind works.  I am extremely right brained, creative and energetic.  My mind never stops day dreaming.  This is something that I both love about myself and it drives me crazy.  Most days, I love it about me.  And most days, those around me love it, too

I think that I can get very excited about my goals.  I picture them and envision them daily.  I had an “aha!” moment recently (thank you Oprah for coining that for me) when I realized that one reason I get so EXCITED about my dreams and goals is probably because I know I will achieve them.  Some people don’t get so excited about those thoughts because they fear it can’t be done.  I am still human and have fear, don’t get me wrong, but I think I am more fearful not knowing how to achieve my dreams, not if I will achieve my dreams.  So many folks, (including many that I love) dream small, don’t take chances and stay in a comfort zone.  Not me. I actually have to train myself to stay in a comfort zone and find the beauty in routine.  I have really, really grown so much this last year in this sense.  I am learning to take a deep, beautiful breath when I daydream.  I am learning to not think that by setting smaller goals for myself, that I am putting off (for forever) my BIG, PASSIONATE goals.

For instance:  One of the goals on my list on my bathroom mirror is to lose 120 pounds.  I can get very excited about the outcome (as I very well should!!).  I can start day dreaming about what I’ll look like, what kind of tattoo I’ll get to celebrate my achievement, etc.  And then I think, “Okay, I am down 64 pounds.  That’s about halfway toward my goal.  What can I do today to reach that goal?”  I have to take a step back and think day-by-day in the midst of thinking big.  So then, every choice I make today is one step toward that goal of mine.  What foods I put in my mouth.  If I choose to have an alcoholic drink at dinner with friends?  If I exercised today?  I am not always perfect, and I have to be realistic.  I can’t think that if I didn’t go to the gym today, I have failed.  I have to think, “Okay, I had a good reason not to go today.  I’ll go tomorrow.”  And I will.

Another goal on my list is to live Green in more ways that I was.  The environment is super important to me.  So, in my day dreaming, I picture myself living in a 100% environmentally friendly home one day.  A beautiful home with a beautiful garden, a composting unit, solar panels, big windows, a few pugs and a family.  And this thought makes me so happy.  And then I’m like, “Man.  How will I get the money to live in such a home?  And a family?  I’m not even dating anyone right now!”  So I embrace my dream, and then I think, “What am I doing today to make this dream a reality?”  I have started recycling more.  Actually, I recycle almost everything these days.  I’ve changed all my light bulbs to earth friendly ones.  I buy organic food.  I turn out lights in my apartment (I am lucky to live in an apartment with HUGE windows so I don’t even have to turn on a light until 8 or 9 at night).  Anyway, all of this is to say that I am teaching myself the part about the baby steps.  I can daydream about running a Marathon, and then I have to do little things each day that are going to help me achieve that goal.

I also made this list with very achievable goals for this year.  These aren’t all of my life long goals.  Those goals would include things like, traveling to Tibet, writing a book and getting it published and running a Marathon.  All great goals that I don’t doubt I will achieve!  I just know that the chances of me traveling to Tibet this year are small, unless the Dalai Lama calls me, and he owes me a call.  Anyway, it was also a big step for me to make my goal list for this year only.  So I don’t get ahead of myself.

This is the essence of what “Live Life To The Fullest” means to me.  Feel full on life!  Feel full on good, healthy food!  But don’t rely on food to fulfill you.  Live life to the maximum.  We are each here for a very important reason.

You know how when you are dictating your thoughts, it’s easier to do so when you’re typing it out rather than writing?  Your brain just moves so much faster than your hands when you have a pen and paper.  But typing makes it easier (it also helps that I am a very fast typer!)  Anyway, that’s how I feel sometimes about my head and my heart.  Like, my thoughts are going so fast and my heart is so passionate and goal-oriented, but my life is in the present.  I am here.  Sitting at my computer desk.  It’s 12:42AM.  My cat is on the bed.  And I have to come back into my body and be in the present moment.  Take a deep breath.  And know that I am reaching all of my goals, day-by-day.  Year by year.  I am also taking it one or two or three goals at a time, instead of like twenty.

My mom had a dream to be a mother and to be a Psychologist.  When she was pregnant with me she decided to go back to school and get her Masters in Psychology.  But she soon realized it wasn’t the right time.  She could have just given up, but she didn’t.  She realized that what she was supposed to be doing at that time was to be a great mother.  And she was (and still is!)  She raised my sister and me and was so involved as a stay at home mom and really made the most of every minute with us.  Then when I was in high school, my mom decided to go back to school.  She kept quiet about her dream when I was growing up, it wasn’t really until she went back to school that I had any inkling.  And my mom showed me that it’s never, ever too late to achieve a dream.  She went back to school, got her Masters, and now has a very successful private practice as a therapist.  My mom loves her job.  She shared with me recently that going back to school when I was young was simply, “The right idea at the wrong time.” She never gave up on her dream or doubted that she’d do it, it was just a matter of when.  And in all honesty, I think my mom is a much more successful therapist in her 50′s than she would have been in her 30′s now that she has more life experience and she raised my sister and me so well.

Right now, my main focus is on weight loss goals and financial goals.  And I can say, I will achieve them. And whatever your goals are, I encourage you to DREAM BIG!!!  And share your goals with those you love.  Have them encourage you.  Then think about which goals are most doable this year.  And make those your immediate priority, while still keeping your other dreams alive and knowing you’ll get to them eventually.  You’re not settling.  You’re just living.  And live passionately.  Take risks.  Set small goals and dream big.  Don’t just stay in your comfort zone and do what’s easy or what your friends are doing with their career or lives.  Make it happen!  And along the way, you’ll realize that every day is an opportunity to get one step closer to your goal, whether it’s a goal you’ve set for yourself for this year, or for 10-years from now.

And who knows.  Maybe one of these days, we can meet in Tibet, drink some tea and talk about our dreams together.