Create a Balloon List
Are you looking for some inspiration? Try creating a Balloon List….
The Balloon List was invented in 2008, when I decided that the much-hyped idea of a Bucket List seemed somehow too ambitious, maybe too difficult to achieve, and not likely to be successful for many people.
Setting personal goals and striving to achieve things is something we can all benefit from.
Here is where the Balloon List originated from…
When I was 28, I felt like I had it all. A husband, a child, a house, a good job, great friends…..and yet I was somehow bored. I felt like there was so much more I could be doing and experiencing.
And so I created a list called “30 Things Before 30”, and on my 29th birthday I set out to achieve 30 things in the year before my 30th birthday. These were things I had always wanted to do but kept putting off, or experiences that made me a better person, or were things that put me out of my comfort zone and helped me grow as a person.
It was a year of trying new things, getting out of my comfort zone, growing and learning so much about myself.
It was UNCOMFORTABLE but growth occurs just outside of our comfort zone – think of the periods in your own life where you have grown, and I bet they didn’t happen when you were feeling safe and comfortable? (If you’re interested in learning more about overcoming fear and indecision, I highly recommend the book Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers)
My advice to you? Forget about a Bucket List – try writing your own Balloon List – a list of things you want to do or achieve before your next birthday.
• what things do you want to do that you keep putting off?
• what can you do that makes a positive difference to others?
• what things can take you out of your comfort zone and help you grow?
And go out there and make them happen!
P.S. If you are interested in boosting your resilience to help you thrive, click here to check out the Resilience Coaching options
Just in case you are curious, here are the 10 things on my list of “30 Things Before 30”:
• donating blood for the first time
• climbing to the summit of Mt Ngauruahoe in Tongariro National Park
• watching a sun rise from the beach
• doing the Sky Jump off Auckland Sky Tower – 11 seconds of freefall!
• getting John Travolta’s autograph
• skinny dipping
• completing my first half marathon
• swimming with a dolphin
• raising money for charity
• volunteering for St John
