Have a totally different life by this time next year

to accomplish or not. I have the opportunity if I want to take it. Part of me is afraid to take the next step. Part of me wants to change my life. Honestly, I don’t know how much I really want to change my life…

Come on Alterego66, don’t let fear stop you from becoming the person who want to be. Step up to your fears and take your life to the next level. I don’t think you will regret it but I do think you will regret never taking a chance.

which got me thinking, what would I change about my life if I won 5 million dollars? Now, the point of this isn’t to dream about something that isn’t going to happen, the point is to get me to look at my life now and see what I would like to be doing if money weren’t a hurdle.

I’d have a ranch with 20-100 acres where I could have animals. I’d have a couple of horses, and a big enclosed area for cats (to keep them safe). I’d also have some dogs that would be rescues. To have this I would need help, people who helped look after the animals.

Then, if I didn’t have to work 40 hours a week, I would want an exercise area and a personal trainer. Getting and staying in shape would be important to me. It would be nice to have a decent gym in my house or a dedicated exercise room someplace. Since being healthy is a goal, I would also want a housekeeper/cook or at least be a much better cook myself so that I was buying and eating healthy food. No fast food, no garbage (which I am SO fond of). Why exercise when I am not eating right?

Since eating healthy would be a priority, I’d grow my own vegetables and fruit, at least as much as was practical. This way I would know that the food wasn’t drowned in chemicals and pesticides. And nothing tastes better than a fresh picked tomato!!!

Cars, I don’t really care too much about having a fancy car. I’d like a 4WD truck so I could go camping/exploring more. I’d like a motorcycle to ride around the dirt roads so I could explore. And I’d like to spend way more time camping, kayaking, mountain biking, etc.

My house wouldn’t be huge. I’d like a library, one room with lots of books and nice comforatble places to read. I’d like an outdoor eating are to take advantage of nice weather and enjoy the scenery.

How I spent my time would change. I’d like to get away more often, and volunteer on projects that I think are worthwhile.

OK, this list isn’t complete but it’s a start. The question I now ask myself is how much of this can I start working on now? Actually, I can work on quite a bit of this list – especially the part about exercise and eating better. I don’t need to be a millionare to grow a garden and make better food decisions.

The land will have to wait. I can start making better time decisions as well. I waste way too many weekends messing around with work that should have been completed during the week. I need to stop giving my weekends over to work. They should be mine and be guarded jealously so that I can do things I want to do with those 48 hours.

I guess my short answer is that I don’t need a million dollars to start to live the life that I want to live. I just need to make a plan about how I can achieve what I want within the limits of my current situation. What a freeing thought!!!

Looking over my entries, I started posting in Dec. 2005. So that means that I haven’t managed to accomplish this goal since it’s now January, 2007. I’ll keep this goal for another year since it can’t hurt me to strive to change.

Perhaps I’m getting caught up in the material side of our culture but I want a larger income next year (significantly larger, not just a raise) and I want to fix my house up or move to a larger house. There are aspects of my house that I like – the floorplan, the location, and my neighborhood – but I would like a different style of house and I can’t change mine to be what I want without spending a ton of money. I have work to do on my house to get it ready to sell if I decide to go that route. I may as well fix it the way I want with the idea that I may sell soon.

I need to see when I started this goal and then see how much I have changed. I know that some parts of my life will be the same – where I live and my job – but there are other aspects that I can still change.

I’m experiencing more self confidence and I am stretching my comfort level. I can sense changes in my life. I am more comfortable with new situations and I am willing to try new things. I still need to act on more of these feelings but I can see that I am changing.

But it has got me thinking about what I want to do rather than what I am doing. I did like my current job until this past summer when too many people interfered with my job. So, now I want another job where I have more control over what I do.

I also want to figure out what I am doing now that I didn’t do last year. That might be a very short list.

If I get it my life will certainly change. If I don’t get it, I should seriously think about what I want to do instead of what I am doing. The idea of buying a farm or ranch in Colorado is sounding great right now. I want space around me instead of being confined by so many people.

I’d have a white Toyota 4WD extended cab truck (converted to disel) with a camper shell. Then on the roof rack there would be a kayak and bike rack with mountain bike and road bike. My house would be a small adobe in NM or Colorado with several acres of land for my horses and cats. I’d have a garden where I grew vegetables and some fruit trees – apples, pears, apricots. The house would be powered by solar panels and a small wind turbine. The rooms would be small except the living room, family room area which would be a large area for social gatherings. There would be a den/library with my books where I could sit and read.

Now, what would I do for work? Gotta work on that part of my new life.

Different in how I live. How I think. What I do. How I do it. What I value (well maybe not too different). Perhaps my goal should be think differently by this time next year.