This is Day 2 of the 21-Day Journaling Challenge held in Nov 2011. The challenge is now over but you can do the tasks in your own time. Visit the overview page for all the challenge tasks.
Hi everyone – Welcome to Day 2 of 21DJC! :)
Yesterday’s question was an age-old question – “What would you do if you have one million dollars?” Many of you had interesting responses. Some of you wanted to buy a nice, large house. Some of you wanted to use it to invest and grow more money. Some of you wanted to renovate your current home. Some of you wanted to start up a charity / NGO / organization that supports a humanitarian cause of your choice. Some of you wanted to travel around the world. Some of you wanted to give a portion to your family and friends, to enable them in their goals.
Whatever it is that you wrote, know that they represent inner wishes that you’ve been wanting to fulfill, but have yet to do so. Yesterday’s question was actually to draw out these innermost desires and bring them to your awareness.
And the interesting thing is, you don’t have to till you have $1 million before you can fulfill these desires.
What do I mean?
Goals represent your inner desires. One way to satisfy these desires is to achieve the actual goals themselves. However, you can only do that when you have $1 million in your arsenal (since it takes time to manifest). By having a goal that has to be deferred (i.e. you can’t work on your $1 million goals yet because you haven’t achieved $1 million), it’ll only disempower you and prevent you from living in the now.
The more empowering way is to (a) distill to those very desires and (b) find ways to realize them this very moment.
Look at what you wrote for yesterday’s $1 million question. Ask yourself – (a) What desires do these goals represent? (b) How can I realize these desires, right away today?
For example, say one of your $1 million goals is to travel around the world. In reality, you may not be able to travel to any country that you want now because of financial reasons.
However, remember that this isn’t the point. If you look at the desire this goal represents, it possibly reflects a desire to break free and take a breather, due to a prolonged period of not resting. The answer to realizing that then, would be to start taking breaks, even short vacations or just having the weekend off (see Habit #2 of 8 Habits of Highly Effective People). It may reflect a desire to be exposed to new cultures and grow from the multitude of experiences, of which you can already start doing now by getting out there to meet people of other backgrounds.
Another example – Say one of your goals is to allocate $X to your parents, as gratitude for bringing you up. You can already realize that now by sharing $Y every month, where $Y is a smaller amount than $X, adjusted to reflect how much you can spare for this purpose. You can be more generous towards them in your daily life. You can treat them to lunch/dinner/vacations, more so than you’re already doing now. Or if money isn’t a commodity at your disposal, you can do other things like prepare meals for them, write a card, spend more time to them, as acts of gratitude.
And so on and so forth the other $1 million goals.
There’s no need to put life on hold till [X event] happens. That’ll be to put off living. Think about how you can make your desires happen now. This is what it means to live in the now.
3 Important Things To Note Before Continuing
#1. Sign Up First Before You Proceed
Here’s a quick shout out – We now have over 570 official participants!! *whistles and claps* :clap: That’s over 140 new participants registered in the past 24 hours!! To all new participants – Welcome on board!! :D
For those who have not signed up yet, it’s not too late – you *can* still sign up now. Simply hop over to the announcement post, complete the 3 steps to sign-up, and you’ll be added to the list in 24 hours:
Please make sure you’re signed up before you proceed. The comments area for each day’s post is designated only for those who have signed up for the challenge.
#2. Post Your Entries in the Right Thread
Some of you have been erroneously posting your journal entries in the wrong thread. For example, posting your replies to the questions for Day 1 and Day 2 in the announcement post, and so on.
Note that the announcement post is only for sign up registration, while Day 1’s post is for posting your Day 1’s journal entries; Day 2’s post is for Day 2’s journal entries, and so on. I’ll be deleting the entries that are posted in the wrong thread from now on, as it makes it confusing for other readers. Please kindly cooperate and follow the instructions for the benefit of the community – thank you!
#3. Get Your Gravatar
You may have noticed some participants have a nice profile picture displayed with their comments. Most of you have the default PE logo (maroon red with white text), because you have not created your gravatar account.
To set your custom profile picture, visit Gravatar, register your account (Important: Make sure it’s the same email as the one you use in your blog comments) and upload your profile picture. Your picture will automatically be reflected in all your blog comments where you had filled out the same email address as the one in your Gravatar account. This is a great way to spruce up the comments section and individualize yourself! :D
Let’s now move on to the question for Day 2 of 21DJC! ;)
21DJC Day 2
Day’s 2 question is one of my personal favorites:
If You Are To Do Something For Free For the Rest of Your Life, What Would It Be?
Would you sleep and do nothing? Would you pursue a certain passion? What would that passion be? Would you be pursuing a particular craft? What would that be? Would you be traveling around the world? Would you be blogging? What about? Would you want to pursue a humanitarian cause? What would it be? Would you be writing? What about?
Update: Some readers seem to have some confusion over how to interpret the question. Is the question supposed to mean what you would willingly do without receiving money for? Or is it suppose to mean what you would want to do because it does not cost anything?
My answer? The former. If I were to rephrase the question: “What would you want to do for the rest of your life if you are never paid for this work?” In other words, your life passion. Your life purpose. Hope that helps!
Your Task Today:
- Reflect and answer today’s question. There’s no word limit – whether minimum or maximum. Write as few or as many words as you want. It’s all up to what you want to express!
- Share your answer. After you are done writing, copy and paste your answer in the comments area and post it there.
- Check out other participants’ answers. Other participants will be sharing their answers too, so feel free to read and reply to their answers. This is a group course, so let’s support each other in these 21 days.
((Images: Empty book for journaling, Man with arms outstretched))
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I think I would take the time and write. I never have time to write. I would also most definitely want to try and help others as well, but I think through writing you are always trying to help others in some way. There are so many people out there trying to get books published and every time I read a new book I get overwhelmed about how I will never be able to do it. I love to read and I love to write and if you love something there should be no exchange of money so I most definitely can see myself doing it for free becasue I love it. That also might take some of the pressure off of it as well. If there is no pressure to get paid for something than you might be more inspired to do it.
What would I want to do for the rest of my life…..does it have to be only one thing? That would get pretty boring! I know the one thing it wouldn’t be…transcription!
I would love to be able to have time to write…and devote attention to my poor abandoned blog.
I want to be able to have time to exercise daily…bike, walk, and swim…to build up strength in my poor atrophied legs.
And with my rebuilt, stronger legs I want to travel..simply, and with my husband and kids (without them complaining though!) By bike and by foot with minimal possessions, only what we need.
I want to see my country first, and then some more of the world.
For now that is what I would want to do. I can’t say that I want to do the same thing over and over the rest of my life either…things change, life shifts.
If we are talking about a service to others…I guess I would help others find answers or resources.
If we are talking about recreation, it would be playing video games, going to concerts & performances, going to movies, going to historical landmarks & theme parks…anything uplifting & mellow that I could find to get into.
i would like to learn a lot of things like playing musical instruments
i would not bother of my work.
i would travel all over the world
i would get more and more books to read
i would enjoy shopping with my wife n kid without seeing price tags
1. Coach . To coach , or to be coached is to connect with the ever present abundance of life.
2. Play with spaces. 2D , 3D. Because through that is to connect with the unspoken .
I would love to make me,my family(especially, my parents) happy and satisfied for the rest of my life.
I would love to feed biscuits to calves,cows,dogs,puppies and all such other living beings(I have tried feeding Parle-G Biscuits to first 3, and the feeling is divine.
You all, please try this, you will feel so satisfied. You will always remember me. It is Real Divinity!!! Something, which cannot be expressed in words. You have to feel it. May be initially, your mind will stop you, hesitate you from doing this(it happens with me), but you have to break this bond to make somebody happy, to do something good & to go through a Divine Experience).
I might, also love to do good for the needy, feed poor people, especially, children.
Also, I would love to play cricket, if possible, a tournament on a larger scale(For eg. in International matches)
I would also love to see nature, visit different places, eat the food I like, try different things and get different experiences.
Also, Equally Important, I would love to Read Quotes!!!
And,
Definitely,
I would love to talk to God!!!
1) Educate/help/sponsor the poor & underprivileged
– Join the UN or NGO’s to help them come up in life with a decent education to improve their living.
2) Help people find their through passion in life and guide them to be successful.
3) I will travel around to world to see how i can make a change & discover more passions.
4) Play golf, attend social events, meet more people from different backgrounds to see life from their perspective. –> Some of the things that i really enjoy
:shy:
This question is interesting because there are a lot of things now that I do for free that I enjoy. I write poetry, enjoy planting, scrapbooks, spending time with my two daughters, walking through my hometown. My summers are spent with my two daughters swimming freely in the river that flows through my hometown. There are so many free things to enjoy in life.
The one thing I would love to do that does cost money is to travel around the country and the world. I would travel the rest of my life whenever I felt like doing so. I would love to travel to Paris, Italy, Africa, Australia, Europe, and Ireland. I would also want to travel and visit each state in America. I live in a small community in Southwest Virginia. I have already been to North and South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and that is about all. There are so many other places I long to see. I long to just take a road trip to California, visiting other states along the way. All of this can happen but not freely. There are gas expenses, hotel expenses, and other financial needs that are holding me back at this moment. I love my photographs because they capture experiences in my life. So, of course I would have a camera in hand as I visit and travel everyplace that I can.
So after thinking about the daily things that I enjoy for free, travel would be my answer to this question. Coming home to recharge and then spontaneously saying to my best friend or my daughters and boyfriend, “Hey, let’s go enjoy Paris and do some sight seeing!”
Taking care of my daughter, watching her grow, playing with her. The reality is i need to keep working to pay the bills so i am gone most of the day, get home tired! Being a single parent, i am the only source of income.
I really like your answer because I have two young daughters and free time with them would be a blessing. Yet, as you said, the reality is, there are bills and responsibility. At the moment I am a stay at home mother but I’m job searching now.
Charitable service to community. This would be a mix of practical service through helping those who cannot help themselves, like home care, hospice care, and also teaching skills that I can such as software development, languages, massage, run a manufacturing business, counselling (and intend to be able to add yoga to the teachable skills list within next 3 years). If it is for free it must be a labor of love, and there is no better way to realise love than to work in service of the community.
I am not sure of the meaning of the question – it could be both ways:
(1) What I would do for others for free (without being paid) – I’d like to help people, specially old people and sick people, like persons suffering from cancer. Often, in addition to professional medical care, these people need a friend, someone to talk to and share their thoughts. Even if people help financially, not many people give their time.
(2) What I would like to have for free: my passion is learning – both on a personal basis and also professionally. I would read as many books as I could, attend seminars, discussion groups. I would also like to travel to places with history, where I could learn the local culture and history.
I would write inspirational lyrics and make music to free peoples minds. I would use all of self development tools I have discovered in my life and put together simple, fun, free and transformative methods of waking people up to their highest potential. I would create a blog of information thats not shown in the media to help people see through the illusions we bombarded with an empower them with tools to help with the shift happening in 2012. I would also take my kids travelling all over the world, as it has so far been my highest education as a flight attendant for 10yrs. I would start a new way of educating our kids, emotional intelligence, survival skills, self sustaining tools and the importance of love and unity between people and how to love effectively and change old patterns, basically tools to protect and make them aware of the diseases of our age. I would also educate and promote the value of clean air and water for health, and alternative forms of healing, vibrational, frequency medicine. I would do my best in these areas to make the world a better place for my kids.love and light. Nureena
-Help someone in need who doesn’t even know me
– Write write write
-Bring smiles to someone’s face
– Be the support system for my parents and brothers
– Eat out at all the bakeries ..
– Read about anything and everything under the sun!
– Click photos with a real camera!(not phones)
– Buy and wear stylish yet classy clothes that match my personality
– Look and be beautiful
– travel to exotic places
I embrace communication, especially when it leads to additional learning. I find in my off-work hours
I enjoy posting on the internet summaries of science articles that caught my interest, by putting the intrigue, curiosity or application spin on them, since it bothers me that people find science or mathematics boring, too complicated, or non-relevant. Whereas, it is a fundamental thread to our future existence. Yes I may not like having to do the ‘spin’ since the true scientist in me thinks that knowledge should stand on its own, but I actually appreciate that others see things in very different way than people, and this is where we scientists lose the battle in communicating correctly our messages. I actually find it fun to take what I read, which can be so droll, and find a new way to communicate it. I am lucky to be paid for something I would normally do for free, and that is work, on spacecraft. Yes, it’s pretty amazing to spend my days solving problems with the hope that they will be part of the future, traveling far and wide exploring the local and far universe. I prefer it when it is real, rather than just ideas, but you need to start somewhere. What I don’t like is that there are restrictions on what I can share in my work. And somehow I do continue to share my work in ways that are acceptable and fulfill my desire for sharing. Deep down I prefer the sharing of knowledge and getting people to think about the world in a different light, something they did not expect when they woke up that morning. Who knows what spark that new aspect of knowledge could bring to those they interact with that day.
If i could do something for the rest of my life for free it would be drawing and video games, listening to music and practice martial arts and cook. For a year and a few months i’ve been getting into drawing and art and i’ve been making a lot of progress compared how i was when i first started. Its very surprising how I’ve gotten this far and I know I’ll be able to make more progress. I find it soothing and a way of journal writing as well.
Listening to music and perhaps learning an instrument has been very relaxing. I’ve found myself singing along and going along with the beat of the song I’m listening to. In the process it feels pretty good and I wouldn’t mind doing that for the rest of my life, even if it were songs made by girls. The other day i sang a love ballad at an open mic night and a lot of my friends tell me it was surprising i can do it. granted i can imagine they’re telling me this to be nice but its another thing when a lot of other people tell me the same thing. It was surprising to hear that after hearing it they felt very soothed. It felt good hearing that.
For the last few years I’ve been learning Tae Kwon Do and for the most part I’ve had a lot of fun learning. Granted I know that some people think its just kicking but the self defense aspect of it requires a lot of punching. Kicking isn’t get you that far if you end up on the street surrounded by thugs. Hard to say if I can handle a situation like it but I practice in preparation. I also like spending the time improving my skill. Yesterday I heard one of my friends complain about how boring archery is. Of course it is, the idea is to practice repeatedly but you won’t get better without repetition and while it can be monotonous I’ve learned and improved my skill from it.
Finally cooking because well I enjoy eating and what better satisfaction is there to eat what you cook. I think there is something wonderful about it and I’ve developed an appreciation for what i eat and how I enjoy my food because of it. These are a few things I want to do i i could do something for free for the rest of my life ;)
First Thought: Travel around the world, experience new cultures and meeting people.
Second thought: I want to do applied researches for an university.
I want to learn and study everything about psychology, luck, happiness, ethics, awareness, mindfulnuss and therapies. With this knowledge, I want to do long term researches about people finding their happy and loving life. I do not only want to do researches at the desk, but also together with people, maybe with a psychotherapy integrated.
If I will get children after all, this goal sticks perfectly with it. I will raise my children in a loving and aware family. These experiences will help me with my researches and the researches will help me with my family. *dream*
SOMETHING TO DO FOR FREE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE?
hmmm. I can think of 3..
1. VOLUNTEER TOUR GUIDE AT DISNEYLAND FOR CERTAIN DAYS OF THE WEEK
2. FOOD CRITIC
3.TRAVEL WRITER..
I’ll be so happy doing these!!!!
My mom served as a Stephen Minister and my husband is now serving as one. Our church offers the training each year. Now that I am retired, I plan to take the training this winter. A Stephen Minister serves as a helper, listener, coach, companion, etc. They serve because the minister cannot be everywhere. People in need request a caregiver and the trained Stephen Minister serves an individual or family. I could get assigned to one person or to a family. As a retired counselor, I think this type of service would be a good way to continue to utilize my skills as a helper.
I would read. I would give myself the time to read. I would write about what I’m reading. I would pass the books on to people I know would love them. I would read fiction and non fiction. I would read magazines and newspapers. I would read instructions and tell the writers if the words mean what they want them to mean.
It’s the time, more than anything that’s so expensive. I do read now. But finding the time in the day to just relax and focus on whatever I’m reading without making sure that I don’t go over the fifteen minute break or that I don’t read past the time at night when I need to be working towards sleep is the hard part. The luxury would be in the time.
What else would I do? I love to travel, but I like saving up for it. I like having the trip be the reward for the work of planning and of working. I admire people who volunteer, and that is something I’d like to do more of, but that comes down to a time issue as well. If I am at work nine hours a day, I spend an hour exercising, half an hour writing and keeping in touch with loved ones, nine hours sleeping, that’s nineteen and half hours out of twenty four, leaving four and a half hours for anything else. Which, technically, is enough time to accomplish something, but there are opportunity costs. If I spend that time volunteering, then I am not able to have dinner with my family or I am not able to take the journaling class I want to or the improv class.
I think it’s mostly a matter of balance. There is time for the things which are important so finding those things which matter the most is essential. Figuring out my priorities needs to happen before I commit to things which just aren’t at the top of the list. Taking care of myself needs to be there, family needs to be there, the rest, will work itself out.
Well, there are several things I would do for free for the rest of my life, but there are some more interesting than the others.
I would certainly offer help to the people in need. What help? any kind, for example, even labour work like growing, watering, picking vegetables in the garden; I also could offer my time in an educational centre for children, helping them solve problem.
I would also go around and offer to read stories for children, sound weird? I don’t know how I can reach them in a welcoming way but if anybody interested, I’m eager to read any stories to them and like to see their mouths open and feel the rare quietness in the atmosphere while reading stories. I could do that even I’m old. So, that’s it, I could read stories to others for the rest of my life for free.
For free I would help people achieve their best self or their goals. I would coach individual clients a couple a day. At least 2 days a week I would coach in a facility like a shelter or prison. I know that we can’t force people to change. By opening up the thinking a better life can emerge.
This question I find interesting as I cannot think of anything that money is stopping me from doing (except getting married and buying a big house, which don’t seem relevant in this instance). I get pleasure from meeting with friends and family, going walking, following football, nights in, nights out – all of which do not cost very much if done in moderation. And if they were done to excess, then I imagine I’d get bored of them.
On saying this, although I’ve never been a major fan of holidaying abroad, there is a whole world out there so I guess I would like to do some travelling in small doses (otherwise I’d get home sick!), and see many of the sites including Italy inc Venice, France, Australia, America, New Zealand etc.
I probably would grab back to my hobby since it must be something that I love. So playing and learning and teaching chess would be the freebie thing for me.
I am not quite sure whether I understand the question right…
Things that I would do for free:
Reading motivational and inspirational books- then sharing what I have read with other people especially college students who are about to start their life. I would also share with them my life experience, coming from a nobody to somebody.
I’d get a team together to renovate the lovely ruins all over this country and get people living in them again.
I would be a nurse for free ! I love nursing so much I would do it for free! It is my passion .I love to care for the eldely . they are so grateful . Yep NURSING for ever !
Love people who are so passionate and enthusiastic about something!!! I don´t know if nursing is your job, but if it is, I´m sure people feel really confortable and happy around you!
A very, very tough question Celestine! I kept reading the question all over and over again. If I were to do something for free for the rest of my life, what would it be? The definition of something for free for me means two things, something I’d do for free for others voluntarily or something that I am allowed or sponsored to do for free for the rest of my life.
Nevertheless, I’ll elaborate on what I’ll do if I am allowed or sponsored to do for free for the
rest of my life. Will I sleep and do nothing? Now that’s a pretty boring life. I guess I am allowed to do more than one thing since the word ‘to do something’ is used in the question.
If I were to do something for free for the rest of my life I would have a personal financial
adviser/consultant for my money management. Managing money wisely are the most important thing in my life since I believe there is no such thing in this world that would be free forever.
Secondly, I wish I can eat edible healthy foods, peaceful country to live in, clean water to use and drink, air to breathe, cleaner environment, electricity, a house comfortable enough to live and warm, sufficient clothes to put on for free for the rest of my life. People are paying for clean water to drink and wash, I’ll not be suprised that someday we all will end up paying for air to breathe. Just ponder on how important money management in just fulfilling our basic needs in our everyday’s life. We even need to pay for our garbage and waste disposal.
Thirdly, I wish I will able to provide nursing and good healthcare to needful patients who
can’t afford any health insurance or pay their hospital bills for free because you’ll never
know when you’ll be the patient or the unfortunate instead. I believe in the saying ‘what goes around, comes around’ or karma that a person’s actions whether good or bad will often have the same consequences for that person. Health for me is the most important thing because we all can never buy a healthy body. We can practice healthy living or lifestyle but we’ll never know if someday we’ll be diagnosed with life threathening sickness like cancer or brain tumour.
Fourthly, I wish I can have the freedom to share my knowledge, skills, experience, love and thoughts for free to others for the rest of my life and in return I am free to know and learn a lot of things from other people too. Imagine living in a world with boundaries without internet and connection with others because of war.
Lastly, I wish I can have the freedom to live freely with my loved ones, family members, and friends, move and travel freely, allowed to pray and go to the church freely and the freedom to think and express myself freely for the rest of my life. Imagine a life being a prisoner against your will and all these freedom and human rights taken away from you.
Jessica,
Your number three resonates with me. Being healthy and having access to proper health care is crucial.
:) thanks. Seeing ill patients everyday makes you think that if you stay ill, you can’t work and you can’t provide for your family. I am lucky that in Malaysia that the healthcare cost is cheaper and the quality is considered good.
If I have to do something for free for the rest of my life, it has to be travelling around the world. I have this desire deep down in my heart to travel around the world and visit every country before I die. I know that with the way I am currently occupied in my job that sort of travelling is just like a dream.
Next, I would like to pursue my passion of imparting education to poor kids, who don’t get to see the light of school. I believe that one needs to be educated and knowlegable to truly appreciate the value of a human life and those who have the knowledge should remember that a moral responsibility is bestowed upon them to transfer their knowledge and skills to others in any medium of their choice.
I love to read, write and constinuously upgrade my skills and knowledge and given a opportunity I would love to continue this for the rest of my life. I can’t imagine myself sitting static even for a day without gaining anything. Infact like many people out here, I do feel that one lifetime is not enough to delve in each and every field.
My passion is to serve people. I used to be a volunteer at our Netcare ambulance Services when I was unemployed. So if I am going to do something for free it would have to be one of the following: nursing, frail care, old age home care giving or go to a disaster struck country and assist with the injured. For me it’s the glowing message in the eyes that says “thank God for the help” that lasts much longer than the words “thank you” and it is this silent communication that stays in your inner spirit and moves you to the next person. My favourite part is brushing the ladies hair and applying a little lip stick and when they look in the mirror; they already feel better and look forward to my next visit.
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