When I grow up I want to…. part 2

It is widely accepted that the best way to ensure that you actually do the things that you might not otherwise find the courage to do is to tell people that you intend to do them. Announce it to the world. Shout it from the rooftops!

Because saying it out loud makes it real.  And because people are, by nature, curious. And encouraging. And disbelieving. The words of encouragement boost our confidence and the prospect of  inquiry makes us more likely to deliver. I mean, imagine the excruciating loss of face if, heaven forbid, when they ask, we haven’t actually done it.

I’ve often wondered why it is that we can’t simply do these things for ourselves. Why not being brave enough and letting ourselves down is less of a motivation than letting down others. Why are we our own worst enemy? Our own harshest critic? Why do we talk ourselves out of doing things that our friends would encourage us to do?

So I’m going to share with you my little list.  I can’t wait to do ALL of the things on this list. Some are scary. And some are difficult, be it physically, mentally or emotionally. Some will take rather a lot of  continuous effort. Others will be short and sweet. And a couple are currently completely impractical. But that doesn’t prevent me from wanting to do those things. One day.

So here it is, in no particular order:

1) Go trekking in Nepal [specifically Anapurna and Everest Base Camp]

2) Hike the GR 20

3) Go hiking in Palestine

4) Take a silversmithing/jewellery-making course in India

5) Run a marathon  

6) Take a photography course

7) Learn Danish

8) Own a dog

9) Start a blog

10) Start a jewellery business

11) Read the Bible

12) Read the Qu’ran

13) Read the major works of Hinduism

14) Learn to meditate

15) Go to Mali

16) Swim in the Indian ocean

17) Watch an opera at the Met

18) Learn to play the ‘cello

19) Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro

20) Have a vegetable garden

21) Take a patisserie course

22) Learn to sew/ dressmaking

23) Own a horse

24) Go dog-sledding inside the Arctic circle

25) Sleep in a bedouin tent

26) Walk the Camino de Santiago

27) Learn to kayak

28) Join a running club

29) Eat sushi in Tokyo

30) Visit Venice

31) Visit Laos

32) Visit Tibet

33) Learn to swim front crawl

34) Ride a camel in the Sahara

35) Shop in the soukhs of Marrakesh

36) Learn to crochet

37) Read something by each Nobel literature prize winner

38) Take the Eldhestar Icelandic horse photography course

39) Have a speaking role in a play

40) Take a creative writing course

41) Watch a performance of a Shakespeare play at Hamlet’s castle in Helsingør

42) See the northern lights

43) Spend Christmas in Bethlehem

44) Cuddle a Koala

45) Hike the Tour de Mont Blanc

46) Go trekking in the Drakensberg Mountains

47) Learn modern Greek

48) See wild polar bears in their natural habitat

49) Visit the Galapagos Islands

50) Sleep in an igloo.