anneryanlives

As I get closer to age 30, there is an acute awareness of time. This awareness conjures up all kinds of thoughts, like should I buy a house? Will I ever get married? Do I want children? Is Philadelphia the place for me? And on…and on and on.

At the end of the day, all of the age-appropriate expectations really don’t mean much to me. Maybe because the economy sucks so buying a house seems like more of a liability than an investment. Gay marriage isn’t legal. And I already know I don’t want kids. As for Philly, it’s where I am today. So today being today, I really just want to live. I don’t want to get caught up in a vision of my future – time and the powers that be already have that figured out for me.

What I do want to get caught up in is adventure. New experiences. Uncomfortable situations. Physical challenges. Emotional growth. Charitable giving. Memories with my parents. Travel with my friends. And moments. Meaningful moments.

So to hold myself accountable, I decided to embark on the Day Zero Project. The Day Zero Project is a plan where you create a list of 101 things you want to achieve in 1,001 days. What appeals to me about this concept is that 1,001 days is, essentially, three years. Three years is enough time to plan and budget for lofty goals, but it’s also a short window of time wherein there needs to be some discretion as to whether all 101 things are truly realistic goals in 1,001 days.

To the right you will find my list. As I complete each item, I’m going to blog about the experience. The blog is really a reflection piece for me, but my hope is that some of these experiences bring about insight, knowledge or, perhaps, simple excitement that I can share.

I’m seriously excited about the next three years! No matter what happens in my life, as long as I have this list and I remain committed to it, the next 1,001 days of my life will be jam packed with remarkable moments!

 

I Went to Therapy. And I Liked It.

In preparing for this 1,001 day journey, I thought it might be a good idea to hit the ground running with a little therapy. I’ve never been to a therapist, but I’ve been told, by many, I need to be in therapy. Jerks.

My good friend, Amy, who is a life coach by trade and a gem of a human being by nature, referred me to Dale. Dale is now my therapist. Dale is a she. And Dale is amazing. Like, woah. I had a list of items, ok – issues – I wanted to discuss with Dale, but we never got to my list. What we did get to is the crux of so many patterns, thoughts and feelings in my life that I have been trying, for years, to wrap my head around, but without any real revelation. I’m a very self-aware person and I can normally connect the dots, but sometimes it’s just not easy to be objective in our own lives and we need some help and a different perspective to better understand ourselves.

Dale seriously led me down this path of realization that explains SO much. The feelings that I could never articulate finally have words. And let me be clear, I only had one session. Just one, for the record, last Wednesday, August 17th.

I currently have a voicemail from Dale, left just tonight, with her available time slots this week. I want them all. I believe out of the 101 items on my list, therapy may change my life the most.

Here is Dale and her husband, Jeff. They have a practice together – and super interesting Reflections.