Half empty or Half full

Today, I am exactly half way through my allotted time to work on this list of goals, and it reminds me of the joke about the optimist seeing the glass as half full and the pessimist seeing it as half empty.  (I've even seen a t-shirt version that made me smile where the engineer sees the glass as "twice as large as it needs to be").  There is no question that making this list of challenges for myself has made my life richer (and busier) and taught me some valuable lessons about myself and what I value in life.  Yet, sometimes I have also gotten caught up in the "gotta do" mode and been frustrated with myself for not achieving goals more quickly.  So, here are some things that I've learned or relearned in the first half of DayZero - which (along with the actual listed goals to accomplish) sort of illustrates the whole point of taking on an endeavor like this one:

• Life is short - make memories now.  Actually do all those things you say that you want to do some day.  Today is the perfect day to start.
• Focus on what you can do ... this goes along with what's above.  Want to travel, but can't afford that huge trip of your dreams - then either start squirreling away money or try a day locally as a "tourist" (you might be surprised at the little museum in the next town or that park that everyone from out of town visits but you've never taken time to use).
• The people in your life are your most precious possessions.  And I want to take the opportunity to say that I am consistently reminded that I truly won life's lottery in the family department. 
• Sometimes you don't get what you want ... for me this tends to show up most in terms of how I spend my time.  I'd love to be able to take LOTS more time to work on items on this list; however, my job and life in general can get in the way (case in point, I've spent the last 3 1/2 weeks fighting a horrible cold and any energy not used by coughing was used to make hot tea so I would stop coughing!).
• Make time for stuff that isn't on your "list" (whether it's written or not) that day.  My friends sometimes give me a bad time about the length of my "to do" list on my non-library days (in my defense, I don't do many household chores when I'm working so stuff tends to pile up - literally - around the house).  I need to remember that it's also important to recharge by doing things that aren't chores and try to not to bring workplace problems home with me emotionally.  And I should say "no" more too.
• Sometimes, the best way to feel better about yourself is to do something for someone else - even if it's as small as sending a text smile.
• If you want to see something happen, the surest way is to start working on it.  This comes out in some of the projects I've thrown myself into in the past ... example, I love community theater but some back stage jobs aren't anywhere close to glamorous and no one notices when you do them.  However, they really add to the overall show ... so, if I want the show to shine, I should be willing to add to the production even with the grunt tasks.
• Everyone is the star of their own story.  This can create frustrations when you either catch a sideswipe of anger not related to you or when people don't seem to share your priorities, but remembering that a random person in your day has his or her life at the end of the day can sometimes make it easier to shrug off.
• I love to learn.  I am astounded at the number of people who don't seem to share this.
• Find something in life that you know -with unshakeable certainty - that you are good at.  Don't worry if it's weird, don't knock it if it's easy, you can tell people about it or not, just revel in the fact that you are its master.  You might be surprised at how much internal power that knowledge gives you.

And that's the end of my touchy-feely for this post ...

Currently, I'm working most on these goals.  Have the embroidery out for goal #23 right next to the sofa, so I can spend a few minutes with it here and there.  Listening to iTunes (#27); I've really been clipping along in the last month and now am about 5/6ths of the way through my collection.  It's reminding me of songs that were important to me at other points of my life and some favorites that I hadn't marked and kind of forgotten about.  I think I've got about another month's effort left to finish #28 (ZooWorld) and then will turn my attention to other games.  Have had several game nights (#61) and have more scheduled for the winter.  Am packing lunches for myself at work (#71) - I really have been doing it for more than a calendar month now, but decided to go for another month before I consider it complete since I was off from work so much in December. Still playing my harp every week (#4).  I've also picked at a few of the others.  This next 100 days should also see more time spent on photography and (if it all works out) a trip to Mexico!