With so many of my friends (including myself) entering new phases in our lives I often find myself having different versions of the same conversation over and over (and over) again. These conversations generally revolve around  realizing and embracing the concept that time is quickly passing us by and that none of us saw it coming! [Now, this isn't to say that I'm growing tired of talking about the same things - because each conversation usually has its own unique perspective and is further affirmation and motivation for me to (for lack of better words) "get on my grind."]

So this recent coming to terms with how “old” I already am… coupled with my other recent realization that I was RIDICULOUSLY far from being the person that I want to be hit me pretty hard. I realize that I was so startled by this string of epiphanies for a number of reasons… but most importantly because it raised the very blunt question: “Well, when are you going to become this imaginary person that you want to be?”

Now, what may be perhaps the most shocking aspect of this all, is that I’ve realized that a LOT of us have forgotten exactly who it is that we want(ed) to be! The more I speak with friends and think about this concept myself, the more clear it becomes to me that many of us simply fall victim to this whole “life comes at you fast concept” and get so caught up in merely keeping our heads above water that we forget to continue to swim upstream in hopes of reaching our “golden shores.”

So this motivated me to create for myself what I would like to call… “An Achievement List” … (for lack of better/more-catchy wording). Conceptually its similar to a bucket list and yet very different, because I view a bucket list as things that you’d like to do on your last breath before you “kick the bucket.” Whereas a bucket list may be a list of spontaneous events like “going skydiving”, “attending the world cup”, etc. “An Achievement List“, by my definition, is composed of the achievements that you would like to accomplish during your lifetime. Things that you would have to work towards… not just events that you can go and participate in.

So, I wont bore you with my entire list but just for the sake of giving an example I will list a few of the items on my Achievement List below.

Emeka’s Achievement List

(*in no particular order)

  1. Learn to speak multiple languages and communicate solely using these languages in their respective countries of origin
  2. Become a teacher for low-income and disadvantaged youth
  3. Learn to fly a plane and get my Private Pilot’s License

It’s also important to note that there is no limitation on the number of things that you may put on your achievement list, and you can always come back to your achievement list and add more goals. However, you are discouraged from deleting things from your achievement list.

With all of this being said what do you think about the concept of an achievement list? Whats on yours, and where do you keep it? Are you making progress or taking strides towards accomplishing the things on your list, and how often do you go back to your list to check your progress?

Thanks for reading, I’m interested in reading your comments…

Until next time,

Emeka