#61: Play hooky.

Date Completed:  Undisclosed (to protect the not-so-innocent)

I consider myself a dedicated professional. My closest friends have actually nicknamed me “Corporate” – not sure how I feel about that, but I let them have their way (ha). I’ve really been working to find balance in my life this year, though, and THE LIST has been instrumental. It’s taken me out of my comfort zone, reminded me of the importance of quality time, and given me an excuse every now and then to simply lighten up. This particular day, Lisa texted me about an opportunity to see a country band we like perform an unscheduled show at a local establishment we also tend to enjoy…in the middle of the workday. While I waivered on the idea for a few minutes, I decided I was in. It was a fun show, quality girl time, and amazingly, my company didn’t fall apart without me there for a while. Hmm…I might actually want to do this again some time!

#58: Complete a SARK activity.

Date Completed:  7/11/2010

Back in college, my roommate Juliet introduced me to my sense of creativity and imagination by exposing me to SARK. Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy (SARK) is an author who was actually born in Minneapolis. She has written a number of books including Inspirational Sandwich: Stories to Inspire Our Creative Freedom. Included among the doodles, stories, random musings and quotes are some fun and light-hearted activities. I wasn't sure which activity I wanted to complete, but as with several of the items on THE LIST, I’ve felt that my answer would just come to me. So, I recently sat down and flipped through the pages, and then it hit me. I knew exactly which activity was calling. Page 137 reads:

Make little signs that say yes and post them all over your house. Yes. It is a powerful word. Yes can affect us subliminally, even when we’re not concentrating on it. Yes can move us in fascinating directions and transform our thoughts.

To support my local 3M industry but also conserve natural resources, I opted to use only one wall in my house for this activity. Nevertheless, it’s one of my favorite walls in my office bearing a photo collage of some special memories from my trip to Colombia (fitting because this was the first time I really went all in to say YES to something).

Over the years, I’ve been the Queen of "No" and "I Can’t." Those days are over though. Whether it’s Nick Bez who motivates us in Warrior Sculpt Yoga by chanting “Yes you can!” or Lisa tossing out “The answer is yes!” whenever I have a moment of indecisiveness, YES is all around me is it's quite refreshing. YES makes me smile. Yes makes me laugh. Yes inspires me. Yes helps me inspire others.

Some readers have remarked that they especially enjoy the outward facing/inspiring components of this blog, so I leave you with thoughts to ponder and if you’re feeling creative, YES, a little homework.  From A Creative Companion: How to Free Your Creative Spirit by SARK, "Write down a creative idea or dream you have. List five wonderful things that could happen if you let your dream come true. Be as wild and hopeful as your dreams are."

#24 (July): Participate in one volunteer/non-profit activity each month.

Date Completed:  7/11/2010

Now before anyone says I got off easy this month, it’s been really busy at work lately and I’m feeling a little overwhelmed balancing my work/family/social calendars. So, this month I’m going to claim a technicality and participate in one non-profit “activity”. It’s nearly back to school time and PRISM is doing their annual collection of school supplies at my church, so today I hit up my local Target and purchased a ton of items to donate. I’d highly recommend participating in an event like this if you can – there are so many sales this time of year and even a small donation goes a long way for a family who can’t afford the basics for their child’s education. I’m going to shamelessly promote my favorite store on EARTH and let you know that backpacks are only $9 right now (calculators are only $1, rulers are $0.27, crayons are $0.79)! A gift of $20 in school supplies can actually fill up a brown sack to it’s brim and equip a little one with tools for success and perhaps the confidence they might need to feel comfortable going back to school. It was fun to shop and I know it makes a difference in the local community.

#52: Find a home for all the pop tabs.

Date Completed:  6/17/2010

I collect things. Don’t get me wrong though – I collect nothing of value. Instead, I generally collect dust in my home, cobwebs on my “to do” lists, My Coke Rewards points online, and other silly things. I also collect soda (i.e., pop, if you’re from the Midwest) can tabs for some reason. I have no idea where this habit came from, but I vaguely remember someone once telling me, “No! Don’t recycle that can without first pulling off the tab!” because they were valuable to Ronald McDonald House. So I saved and saved – probably for years because I don’t drink that much soda and when I do, I drink from bottles because of the Coke Rewards that Hadley got me addicted to. Anyway, I eventually ended up with a bag of these tabs but no idea where I needed to deposit them. So many times I wanted to dump them in my recycle bin for convenience, but I held back. Then, one day, I found a tab collection “station” (i.e., cardboard box) at my office. Can you believe it? Someone else was collecting these too! This was my opportunity to rid myself of this collection so I brought in my bag and crammed them all into this little box. The box is now practically overflowing which is great, so I hope someone takes it somewhere. I figure I did my part! Of course, now I have a habit AND a collection because I still can’t bring myself to recycle my cans without pulling off the tab. Oh well – that makes something else to add to next year’s list!