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31 Days: Do Make A Plan And Follow Through


I am awesome at making plans. I have sheets full of calculations for budgets. I have page after page of resolutions in order to plan a new life. I have purchased poster board and markers to make vision boards. I've even written down what I'm going to put on those boards. But I am HORRIBLE at follow through. By January 2 or day 2 of whatever day I chose to start on, I've forgotten the plan and gone back to my old ways. The Excel spreadsheets I printed off to keep track of expenses only have a few boxes filled in.The poster board is still in its plastic wrapper.

I want to change this. I want to make that vision board of how I want my house to be and I want to call my friend the carpenter and get him started on making those plans a reality. I want to stick to that budget in order to pay for those plans and to pay for more trips like the one I took to Europe last year. I want to follow through for once and live the life that is waiting for me.

Even the most extravagant plans can give us hope. Living in Paris is the dream to end all dreams for me. It seems so unattainable but  I have bought books written by people who have lived in Paris to give me hope that anyone can live the life they've dreamed about. I have gone so far as to figure out how much of my stuff I would have to get rid of to move to Paris. I've bought books to help me minimize my stuff so that if I ever get to move to Paris, I've already done the hard work of winnowing down what I own so that I can transport it across the Atlantic.

Will I ever live in Paris - probably not. But it is in that planning that I can bear to look into the future. It is in the planning that I get excited about what lies ahead. It is in the planning that I can go to a job that is wearing me out at this moment in time because it will pay for the plan.

Making a plan and following through is the way to living life on your own terms. It is the ultimate DO and I think that plan can save me from the darkness I too often see when I look into the future.

So for now, I will dream plan for the day that I can see the Eiffel Tower lit at night, every night.
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Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 30, 2014 at 1:34 AM

    You *will* go to Paris. Have you seen this post: http://www.thesimpledollar.com/building-a-meaningful-life-from-the-bottom-up/ This post is also very motivational: http://www.thesimpledollar.com/the-biggest-regrets-and-how-to-avoid-them/ and I find this a useful guide for helping with 'follow through': http://markmanson.net/habits

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    Replies
    1. AndreaNovember 7, 2014 at 8:02 PM

      Thank you for your encouragement and thank you for the website links. I will check them out!

      Delete

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