101 things in 1001 days

Many years ago, I embarked upon a personal project to do 101 things in 1001 days. I'm not sure where, exactly, I first heard of this concept, but it resonated with me immediately.

Other people make "bucket lists." Well, I don't intend to kick the bucket anytime soon. I may be immortal, actually. Time will tell. But I'm all in favor of making lists. I guess I just feel like having a shorter-term deadline than your death--which, let's face it, could happen at any moment--makes it more likely that you'll actually do some of those things on that list.

The concept of 101 Things in 1001 Days is that you make a list of 101 things that you've always wanted to do, that you've been meaning to do, or that you think will make your life better in some way shape or form. And then, you give yourself 1001 Days--less than three full years--to check those things off of your list.

Maybe it's always been a goal of yours to ride an ostrich?

It's important not to be too ambitious. Remember, you've only got two and a half years or so to do this. So, along with some "big ticket" items, put some things on your list that are easy to achieve. Maybe there's a museum in your hometown that you've been meaning to visit. You can check that off your list in an afternoon! Maybe you've been meaning to repaint a spare bedroom. That can happen on a Saturday. Perhaps you've been meaning to binge-watch last season's Game of Thrones? Well, a weekend on the couch with good snacks and some take-out menus can knock that one out. Replace your mattress. Go see live theater at least on average once per month. Eat buffalo wings at thirty different places. Donate to a charity every month. Work your way up to fifty push-ups.  The possibilities are limitless!

Try a weird potato chip flavor in a foreign country?

When I made my list, I had a lot of travel-related goals. Again, I had to make them manageable. Like, there was no way that I could set foot on each and every continent in the space of 1001 days. I mean, I've got a job, after all. Also, I have to keep up with my goal to eat lots of buffalo wings, right? They don't have buffalo wings on Antarctica.

Visit a food festival!

But there are lots of short-to-mid-range travel goals that you could set for yourself in addition to some of those other tasks and goals. Here are just a few suggestions, to get you started:

• Visit a new country.
• Visit a new state.
• Set foot on a new continent.
• Get your first passport.
• Go on a cruise vacation.
• Check off a dream destination from your list.
• See a Major League Baseball game in another city, and eat a hot dog while there.
• Run a 5K, a 10K, a half- or full-marathon in another city.
• Ride 10 roller coasters.
• Swim in the ocean on three separate days.
• Visit a new National Park.
• Go to the Kentucky Derby and have a mint julep.
• Ride in a helicopter.
• Visit 10 different museums.
• Ride on a boat, a plane, a bus and a train all in the same calendar month.
• Take all of my vacation time in the same year. No roll-over. No forfeit.
• Kiss someone atop the Eiffel Tower, or on a secluded beach, or at midnight in Times Square on New Years' Eve, or...

Buy a cupcake from a vending machine in Beverly Hills.

The possibilities really are limitless. But by including at least a few travel goals on your list of 101 Things, one thing will be certain--you'll be better off for it. Getting out in the world and having new experiences will enrich and inform your life in ways that you couldn't even imagine.

Make your list. and then get out there and do it!