101 Things in 1001 days

Here are the 101 things that I hoped to accomplish/do in 1001 days [9/21/10 - 6/18/13]. I grouped them into categories that make the most sense for me. I didn't complete them all, but I am thinking of making a shorter list of the unfinished things and re-goaling myself. 

Things I have completed already are in gray

| = things in progress
Fun
1. Visit 5 local restaurants I've never been to
2. Learn a choreographed dance 
3. See a comedian live

4. Attend a local theatre show

5. Wear false eyelashes
6. Make a necklace 
7. Go on a tropical holiday or cruise
8. Try snowboarding
9. See a film at IMAX 
10. Write a comedy set 
11. Write and illustrate a children's book 
12. Grow my own tomatoes 
13. Spend a day exploring my city 
14. Watch a foreign film 
15. Watch every episode of the Office 
16. Read Pride and Prejudice 
17. Play bingo 
18. Make homemade pasta 
19. Take a tango class
20. Watch 26 movies, each starting with a different letter of the alphabet 

Fitness/Health
21. Run a 10K race
22. Do the 200 sit-ups challenge 
23. Exercise 30 mins. every day for a month 
24. Do a full body detox 
25. Get visible abs
26. Run a 5K
27. Buy a new bike
28. Complete the 100 pushups challenge
29. Participate in a sprint triathlon 6/1/2013!
30. Tone up 

Personal
31. Read 5 classic books |
32. Write myself a mail via http://www.futureme.org 
33. Keep a diary for a month
34. Create a living will
35. Learn 5 of my poems by heart
36. Make a list of what I'm looking for/ what is important to me in a relationship
37. Find a scent of incense that invigorates me

38. Don't say anything negative for 1 day 
39. Read about confidence and practice it
40. Vote in a local election
41. Journal every day for a month
42. Write a list of inspirational things, one thing for each letter of the alphabet
43. Tweet something
44. Say yes to 100 things I want to say no to | 
45. Make and send a postcard to PostSecret 
46. Update my blog at least once a month 
47. Write a list of 100 things that make me happy 
48. Answer the "50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind" 
49. Wash my face every night for a month 
50. Take private dance lessons
51. Draw a self portrait 
52. Make a list of 100 things that I am grateful for 
53. Find a poem that means something to me
54. Read the entire Bible
55. Improve grammar / spelling 
56. Participate in Operation Beautiful (http://operationbeautiful.com) 
57. Complete 20 creative writing prompts. http://creativewritingprompts.com/ ||

58. Write a book of poetry 
59. Perform at a Spoken Word event and invite my friends 
60. Buy sexy underwear 
61. Practice smile therapy for a week
62. Take a yoga class

Nutritional
63. Go vegan for a week 
64. No fast food for 6 months 
65. Become a vegetarian for a week
66. Drink 8 glasses of water a day for a month
67. Practice the 5-a-day (fruits & veggies) for a month
68. Learn to cook 10 new meals || 

Educational
69. Learn to play chess
70. Read a biography 
71. Make an effort to learn more about politics before the next election
72. Learn to play a song on the guitar 
73. Learn how to say "I love you" in 5 languages
74. Watch 10 documentaries 
75. Expand my vocabulary by 100 words
76. Learn to say thank you in 5 languages 
77. Learn how to play acoustic guitar 
78. Improve Spanish to the point of fluency 

Service
79. Complete at least 24 hours of community service
80. Sponsor a child

Interpersonal
81. Host a game night
82. Do something for a person that has made a difference in my life 
83. Make two new friends
84. Learn to play tennis (for my dad) 
85. Play tennis with my dad 
86. Mend a relationship
87. Picnic in the park 
88. Inspire someone else to make their own list
89. For one year, write an encouraging note to a different friend each month and send it to them 
90. Expand my dating horizons
91. Find a snail mail pen pal 
92. Start a collection of board games
93. Strike up a conversation with a stranger
94. Make Christmas cards for my friends and family
95. Mentor someone
96. Compliment a stranger
97. Teach a class
98. Dance in 5 different states ||||

Financial
99. Go a week without buying anything 
100. Establish an emergency fund
101. Learn more about investing and invest in something

The Romantic Thinker Blogs Again!

So, I haven't blogged in a WHILE! I figured I'd get back into to it with a series of navel-gazy, figuring my life out, post. (I can hear the collective groans already). 

Now, I am naturally introspective, but nothing makes you more aware of who you are as a person and how you show up in the world like being in a relationship does. Negotiating life with someone can be tricky. It can be simultaneously one of the most rewarding and frustrating experiences on earth! For me, it's most rewarding when I am on the same page as my partner. When I feel known, seen, and heard and able to "do life with" my significant other, it is truly such an enriching experience. The shadow side, however, is the frustration that comes from being with someone who doesn't always see things the way you do and/or thinks so differently about things that communication comes to a stand still. 

Part of how I negotiate that is to try to find ways to communicate who I am to my s.o., so he, at least, has an opportunity to better understand me. Likewise, I can be almost obsessive in trying to understand who he is (personality, history, etc.) as well. What can I say, I am a "learner" in all things, not just the academic. 

The MBTI (Meyers-Briggs) has been my saving grace. Having one of the rarer personality types (INFJ), it has been so useful in helping me articulate my way of being in the world. While no personality test can capture the full complexity of a person, the MBTI has come so very close for me. Enneagrams are a great supplement to the MBTI. An enneagram "emphasizes psychological motivations" (9types.com).  It provides nine types (motivations). The aforementioned website has a test you can take to capture your own enneagram. I would encourage you to give it a go. 

As for me, I am pretty even between Types 4 and 5 (the Romantic and the Thinker). So, here's what that means for me:

Romantics have sensitive feelings and are warm and perceptive, and Thinkers have a need for knowledge and are introverted, curious, analytical, and insightful.

How to Get Along with Me

• Give me plenty of compliments. They mean a lot to me.
• Be a supportive friend or partner. Help me to learn to love and value myself.
• Respect me for my special gifts of intuition and vision.
• Though I don't always want to be cheered up when I'm feeling melancholy, I sometimes like to have someone lighten me up a little.
• Be independent, not clingy.
• Speak in a straightforward and brief manner.
• I need time alone to process my feelings and thoughts.
• Remember that If I seem aloof, distant, or arrogant, it may be that I am feeling uncomfortable.
• Make me feel welcome, but not too intensely, or I might doubt your sincerity.
• If I become irritated when I have to repeat things, it may be because it was such an effort to get my thoughts out in the first place.
• Help me to avoid my pet peeves: big parties, other people's loud music, overdone emotions, and intrusions on my privacy.

What I Like About Being a Romantic Thinker

• standing back and viewing life objectively
• coming to a thorough understanding; perceiving causes and effects
• my sense of integrity: doing what I think is right and not being influenced by social pressure
• my ability to find meaning in life and to experience feeling at a deep level
• my ability to establish warm connections with people
• admiring what is noble, truthful, and beautiful in life
• my creativity, intuition, and sense of humor
• being unique and being seen as unique by others
• having aesthetic sensibilities
• being able to easily pick up the feelings of people around me
• not being caught up in material possessions and status
• being calm in a crisis

What I Struggle With as a Romantic Thinker

• being slow to put my knowledge and insights out in the world
• feeling bad when I act defensive or like a know-it-all
• experiencing dark moods of emptiness and despair
• feelings of self-hatred and shame; believing I don't deserve to be loved
• feeling guilty when I disappoint people
• feeling hurt or attacked when someone misundertands me
• expecting too much from myself and life
• fearing being abandoned
• obsessing over resentments
• longing for what I don't have
• being pressured to be with people when I don't want to be
• watching others with better social skills, but less intelligence or technical skill, do better professionally

Romantic Thinkers as Children (pretty accurate for me) Usually:

• have a few special friends rather than many
• have active imaginations: play creatively alone or organize playmates in original games
• are very bright and curious and do well in school
• are very sensitive
• have independent minds and often question their parents and teachers
• watch events from a detached point of view, gathering information
• feel that they don't fit in
• assume a poker face in order not to look afraid
• are sensitive; avoid interpersonal conflict
• feel intruded upon and controlled and/or ignored and neglected
• spend a lot of time alone reading, making collections, and so on
• believe they are missing something that other people have
• attach themselves to idealized teachers, heroes, artists, etc.
• become antiauthoritarian or rebellious when criticized or not understood
• feel lonely or abandoned (perhaps as a result of a death or their parents' divorce)

Romantic Thinkers as Parents (if I ever have children):

• are often kind, perceptive, and devoted
• are sometimes authoritarian and demanding
• may expect more intellectual achievement than is developmentally appropriate
• may be intolerant of their children expressing strong emotions
• help their children become who they really are
• support their children's creativity and originality
• are good at helping their children get in touch with their feelings
• are sometimes overly critical or overly protective
• are usually very good with children if not too self-absorbed

Now, my s.o. doesn't read this blog, but this activity was helpful for me in organizing my thoughts around these ideas and communicating them when we have moments of relational growth :). I hope this was helpful to you readers and that you will look into it and dig more deeply into who you are. You know I'd love to know your results, so please share if you take the test (via text, email, or otherwise)!