100 Things I Want to Be, Do and Have in My Lifetime

Young woman holding a photo of an old woman in front of her face - a lifetime perspective

Dan, one of my personal life coaches, told me about this list on the first sessions I had with him.

“When I was 18, my dad sent me to an evening with a motivational speaker”, Dan said, “He told us to write down 100 things we want to do in our lifetime. I write my list and put it somewhere. When I became a life coach, I found my list again and I was amazed at how many of the things in it I had already done “.

About a month ago, I started writing about list making and I was very happy to receive many encouraging comments about how effective and motivating it is for people to make these lists.

Today’s list is about looking forward into the future. The Roman philosopher Seneca said, “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable”. Imagine yourself sailing in the ocean of life. You need to know where you are going, right?

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Motivating Kids (14)

This is another set of self-motivating affirmation ideas to add on to the list from Motivating Kids (13). Use them to gently implant positive, empowering thoughts in your kids’ minds and to build their identities as confident and happy people for life.

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Discipline

Too often, I hear parents saying the words “kids” and “discipline” in the same sentence. Sometimes, they add “bad behavior”, “naughty” and “rude” for good measure. When I look at them, their faces typically express anger and their whole body language is tense and stiff.

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Riding in Cars with Kids (2)

Yesterday, I started writing about my secrets for riding in cars with kids. If you are a parent and you have kids, I am sure you are asking yourself how to make the ride safe and happy for everyone. I hope the secrets I give here from 20 years of experience and many hours of being in the car with my kids will motivate you to get into the car with your kids and go on wonderful journeys of fun and joy together.

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Riding in Cars with Kids (1)

Riding in the car with kids is challenging for many parents. When the kids are younger, when the rides are longer and when you are the only adult in the car, it can be even worse.

Gal and I lived in Bangkok for a year and half and riding in the car our kids was something we did for hours almost each day. Eden was about 7, Tsoof was just a baby and Bangkok was a big traffic jam. One day, Gal was on his way home (well, it was a hotel, but we called it home for a month) and sat in traffic for 50 minutes until he decided to get out of the car and walk (oh, I forgot to say we had a driver). He arrived at the hotel after 10 minutes, showered, changed and went back downstairs to see the driver pull into the driveway.

To take Eden to see a friend on Saturday morning, we would drive for about 3 hours to a place that would only be 30 minutes away at 9pm. Going to work took 10 times as long as it would in light traffic and that got every worse during the rainy season.

As usual, when you do not have a choice, creativity sparks.

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Make a list: Friends and Friendships

Our definition of friendship evolves over the years. At first, our friends are the kids we play with, even when we envy them or hate them. As we grow up, our definition becomes deeper and more meaningful, but also more selective.

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Motivating Kids (13)

Affirmations are a good way to encourage your kids to move forward. Instead of telling them you do not want them to give up, you give them an affirmation that tells them not to give up.

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Criticism No More

Absolutely everybody receives some criticism in life. Some of us have the misfortune of growing up with critical parents, while others bump into their first critic at school, but we all have to face criticism at some point, right?

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Make a list: About Myself

When you present yourself to an unknown person, you need to examine your thoughts, beliefs and feelings towards yourself and this may not be easy. When people are asked to describe themselves, they sometimes question whether this is who they are or who they think they are. For the purpose of making this list, who you think you are is all there is, so just write that.

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Motivating Kids (12)

One very gentle and effective way of reminding kids all the things I have mentioned before is to introduce them to quotes. When someone else has said something, your kids may find it easier to accept.

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