Year in Review & Anticipation of Another

Last January I started writing this blog as a way to share my thoughts and feelings about the process of getting out of debt and changing my life.  Writing about goals and money has been a great way to strengthen my committment to turning my life from just saying something to actually doing something.  Without this outlet to share my experiences, I imagine that I might not have had the same passion.

Still, not everything went as planned.  I didn’t make it to the Apostle Islands to go kayaking.  I didn’t climb Mount Whitney as I had hoped.  Eldon, Iowa continues to elude me.  I didn’t learn to tie a tie.  For the most part, the opportunity to do these things didn’t present itself nor did I go out of my way to make them happen.  If there is one lesson that I will take away from the past year it is this: If I wait for opportunity, it may not come.  In order to accomplish anything I must make an effort, take the first step, make plans and arrangements, research, make phone calls, send emails.  I must do something if I expect to get past the point of just thinking about doing something.

Despite the list of goals that I did not accomplish this year, I was able to complete many of the goals on my list in addition to doing a lot of awesome things that weren’t on my list.  I finished my Associate Degree and moved to a new city to begin working on my Bachelor Degree.  I spent a month traveling around the western United States and Canada.  I climbed my first mountain and jumped out of an airplane.  My girlfriend and I went on our first international vacation.  I shot a fully automatic machine gun.  I paid off my car loan and eliminated my credit card debt for the first time in almost ten years.  I took a road trip with my friend Noah to California where we went backpacking in Yosemite and slept under the stars.  I was there while he completed his goal of climbing Half Dome.  I flew to Las Vegas and went to “a show” and gambled a few dollars in the slot machines just to say I did it.  We drove around the Colorado plateau admiring the scenery and visiting some of the most amazing places I’d ever been.  I hiked the Narrows and climbed Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park.  I went on my first rollercoaster that went upside down.  I ate sushi and hated it.

The list of things I did this year is really spectacular.  I am proud of the things I’ve done and I am more proud in knowing that I’ve contributed to people accomplishing some of their own goals.  These same people that I’ve helped motivate have also been a motivation to me.  Thank you to Erin, Noah and AshLeigh for being the catalyst of my accomplishments.  Without the friendship and love you have all shown me, I might not have had the courage to do some of the things that I did.

While I am proud of what I have accomplished this year, I am focused on the future.  I expect the list of accomplishments to be no less spectacular.  While the list will be different, I expect great and many accomplishments by the end of December 2010.  Already in the plans are a trip to Belize where I will climb ancient Mayan ruins, a trip to Iceland to eat rotten shark fin and a trip to Germany to visit one of my good friends.  I will complete my first year of college at my new University and begin my second.  I will continue paying down my student loans.  Who knows what else is to come.  I tend to keep my mind open to opportunity if it presents itself but like I mentioned before, I have to be proactive and make my own opportunities.

Have a great holiday season and a happy New Year!  I’ll see you next year!